Editorial Comment: Provide inputs now, to kick-start farming season

various factors. Farmers are caught up in liquidity problems, with the majority unsure of whether or not they will be able to go back to production. It will not be a surprise, in the absence of some intervention, if some farmers completely fail to produce.
The high cost of production has caused farmers headaches, with many failing to make a profit and in some instances unable to break even. The cost of inputs such as fertiliser, seed, chemicals and tillage has remained so high it has made cropping a very expensive venture. Yet the land still has to be worked on. People allocated tracts of land have to productively use the land to ensure national food security.
In farming there are three factors that are very important in ensuring productivity — land, expertise and capital. The absence of any one of the three will impact negatively on agricultural production.
Most beneficiaries of land reform have the land,  but fall short on the expertise and finance and this explains why production levels have consistently been low. As an intervention measure the Government and the private sector need to work closely with farmers to tackle the production challenges that they face.
It is against this background that we welcome Vice President Joice Mujuru’s speech urging stakeholders in the agricultural industry to find common ground and come up with solutions to problems afflicting the sector. 
There is growing realisation that Government cannot carry the burden to finance the agricultural sector alone, but needs partners from the private sector. It was indeed refreshing that the VP acknowledged that mistakes might have been made in the past, but now is the time to think outside the box for the growth of the sector.
The Grain Marketing Board, reeling under liquidity problems, has found it difficult to pay farmers on time, leaving them struggling for money to buy inputs. We want to encourage more partnerships between private sector companies and farmers. This is a sure way of achieving productivity on the farms and consequently production.
If the farmers have the land, as is the case in most instances and not the money and expertise, then surely let those with the finance and expertise partner them and put the land to its full productive use. It would not make any sense at all just to leave the land lying idle because farmers are financially constrained when there are other partners who can provide the funding and the expertise.
While the contract system has been roundly criticised for ripping off farmers, we believe under current circumstances where farmers are struggling and the Government already burdened with other obligations, it still remains a progressive way of ensuring production takes place at the farms.
There is need, however, for the farmers to understand the nature of contracts that they get into so that they are not exploited.
We expect to start seeing farmers getting on with their land preparations in readiness of the rains that are around the corner. Early land preparations allow for early planting, which gives high yields. We hope stakeholders will play ball and ensure availability of all the crop inputs.
The inputs need to be made available now to help farmers plan their cropping programmes. We appeal to inputs suppliers to reasonably price their products so that they are affordable.