adminIt is against this background that our land should be put to productive use so that we can be able to feed the nation and even have a surplus to export to the region and beyond.
This, however, calls for intensive planning for agricultural activities so that a farmer gets a fair return on their investment. It will not help us to carry a subsistence culture onto a larger piece of land, since farming should be treated as business. In business time is of essence since there is a need to understand the seasons or business cycles.
While farmers have to prepare for the agricultural season ahead and never rely solely on the Government to provide inputs, it is also important for the Government to provide such inputs on time if they are to make any difference in our bid to improve our harvests and consequently our food security.
Chronicle yesterday carried a story in which farmers criticised the Government for releasing crop inputs late into the season saying the distribution of inputs in January reflected poor planning. The Government recently launched an Inputs Loan Scheme in which farmers access fertilizer and seed through Grain Marketing Board depots and people only started accessing the inputs on New Year’s Eve.
The Government’s performance in the area of delivering inputs has been disastrous since over the past decade we have never heard of inputs being distributed on time. Having them distributed in the New Year instead of the period before October is downright scandalous and our ministers should be reminded why they head agriculture portfolios. They are not at the helm so that they announce to the whole country that the rains have come and then start the process of ordering inputs because that results in the inputs being delivered in January. This becomes taxpayers’ money put to waste and we thus understand the farmers’ fury.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union executive director Mr Paul Zacharia emphasised the importance of planning which seems to be lacking in Government judging from its record.
“It does not make sense to talk about inputs this time.
“It really smells of poor planning and a disaster ahead of us. Agriculture is about timing of the rainfall window period and if we fail to catch up with that we are bound to fail,” said Mr Zacharia.
The inputs for the summer cropping season were so late that farmers have suggested that they be used for winter cropping. And please, may we not have poor harvests blamed on poor rainfall every time since the farmers are quite clear on the contributory factors.
The distribution of inputs should not be a political stunt whereby farmers gather at a launch and there is clapping of hands that inputs have come, even though they are three months late. The distribution of inputs should be done on time so that we plant on time in order to be able to feed the nation of Zimbabwe. We believe that it is not asking for too much since there are people in the agriculture ministry employed to specifically look into planning and implementation of such plans of rolling out inputs.
Online Reporter