adminThe Government last week announced the reintroduction of the grain loan scheme whereby households with grain deficit would access grain from the Grain Marketing Board that would be repaid after the farmers harvest their crop.
Most of the affected villagers are from Mberengwa, Zvishavane, Shurugwi and some parts of Gokwe where most families have run out of food.
The villagers reportedly thronged various GMB depots in the province seeking assistance but are being turned away.
Some villagers who spoke to Chronicle said GMB workers told them to first produce offer letters as surety before they could be given the grain.
“We then decided to visit the Provincial Governor’s office to seek clarification because it seems the facility is for those who have farms and plots with offer letters. We were turned away at our local GMB depot with the authorities demanding that we produce the offer letters first but we do not know how peasant farmers from the villages like us can get these offer letters,” said Mr Morgan Ruramai from Zvishavane’s Mapanzure area.
Another villager, Mr Tedious Chuma, said their local chief was also in the dark on how the grain was being accessed.
“When we visited Chief Masunda (of Zvishavane) he indicated that he was also in the dark on the procedure to be followed. It is then that some of us in critical situations decided to visit the governor’s office to seek clarification on the matter,” he said.
The villagers said when they got to the Governor’s offices, they were advised to visit the District Administrator’s offices.
“At the DA’s offices we were again told that they were yet to receive forms from the GMB. We are now confused as to what should be done for us to quickly access the grain,” said Mr Chuma.
The villagers said they were in dire need of food aid and appealed to Government to quickly put in place the implementation modalities for them to access the grain.
“The majority of us are now in the red and we appeal to Government to speed up the implementation of this noble programme before we starve to death,” said Mrs Chiedza Mzezewa of Mberengwa.
Cde Machaya confirmed that villagers from most parts of the province were thronging his office seeking an explanation regarding the grain loan scheme.
He said most of these people were on the brink of starvation.
“The registration of households in need of assistance has begun at most DAs’ offices. We have also told chiefs to compile the names of those in need of assistance in their respective areas. Villagers should visit their chiefs or the DA’s office and get their names registered so that they access the grain,” he said.
Cde Machaya said the grain would be moved to all the GMB depots soon.
The Midlands Governor said each household would get a 50kg bag of maize at a time to avoid the hoarding of grain for speculative purposes.
“To avoid hoarding of grain and ensure that every household in need gets the assistance, we have resolved that each household gets a 50kg bag at a time. We want to avoid a situation whereby people would abuse the facility and hoard maize for resale,” he said.
Cde Machaya said the facility would assist many households that had run out of food.
“The facility came at the right time when villagers from areas such as Zvishavane and Mberengwa are facing a serious grain deficit,” he said.
Online Reporter