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A famous adage goes, “Give a man fish and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish and you feed him for a lifetime’’. This adage has been brought to life by President Mugabe who not only ensured land was returned to the people, but has taken it upon himself to ensure that every family has the means to till the land.
Over the past 13 years, various interventions were made by Government to capacitate farmers to move land reform from the distributive to the productive phase, manifest in the various phases of the farm mechanisation programme and inputs support schemes.
And now the President has taken it upon himself to ensure that over 1,6 million families countrywide get inputs this summer cropping season.
The Presidential Well-wishers Inputs Scheme programme, that has been ongoing for the past six years, went a long way in relieving farmers during the dark days of the inclusive Government when the then Finance Minister Tendai Biti brought MDC-T’s retrogressive, anti-land reform politics to the finance portfolio to starve the agriculture sector of much-needed funding.
Under the Presidential Well-wishers Inputs Scheme, the package for each household will include 10 kilogrammes of maize seed, 50kg compound D, 50kg ammonium nitrate and lime fertilisers, while villagers in agro-ecological regions that receive less rains get at least 5kg of sorghum or millet seed.
Those that specialise in livestock breeding receive assistance to buy medicines, dipping chemicals, stock feed and fencing material.
The President deserves a national salute for this initiative, no wonder the people gave him and his party Zanu-PF, a resounding mandate to lead the nation for the next five years.
We also salute those companies and individuals who have supported this noble initiative over the years and also take this opportunity to challenge other well to do Zimbabweans and patriotic companies to rise to the occasion and support the Presidential Well-wishers Inputs Scheme to mobilise adequate inputs for the disadvantaged.
The role of ensuring sustainable food security at household level should not be left to the President alone. It should be a team effort in line with the Gestalt philosophy that holds that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
We should all play our part to ensure national food security. We also urge the banking sector to think outside the box so that the US$720 million they mobilised to support agriculture this year, is accessible to farmers.
Online Reporter