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Midlands Bureau Chief
THE Government should stop entertaining new applications for land and start empowering new dairy farmers and commercial farmers to boost the country’s milk production, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister in charge of Livestock, Cde Paddy Zhanda has said.Addressing newly resettled and white commercial farmers at a meeting held in Gweru on Monday, Cde Zhanda said he engaged the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Cde Douglas Mombeshora, so as to issue all farmers at dairy farms offer letters.
“We have to protect our dairy industry so that we reduce foreign products. The Ministry of Lands should issue offer letters to all dairy farmers regardless of race. Even white commercial farmers need security, if we are to localise production and stop importing food. We should not entertain fresh farm invasions. This will boost confidence among farmers and enhance production on farms. Production can never increase if the farmers do not have offer letters. We cannot continue to downsize dairy farms,” he said.
Cde Zhanda said Zimbabwe was losing a lot of money on importing milk. He estimated the amount to be in the region of $5 million.
Said Cde Zhanda: “We at times import more than we need. We cannot survive as a country with such kind of carelessness. If the amount of money we are spending on importing milk can be directed towards revamping the local dairy industry, we will certainly achieve a lot as a country.
“We need to show the same commitment that we exhibited when we were fighting chicken importations. I was one of the MPs in the previous parliament who lobbied for heavy duty on all imported chickens. At first there were challenges because we created a shortage of chickens and the price of chicken went high because of demand.
“However, things later stabilised and everyone wanted to go into chicken rearing. So we need to level the playfield for milk production to be localised. Surtax should be considered on all imported milk products for us to revive our dairy sector”.
Cde Zhanda said Zimbabwe needed to address the three key challenges affecting agriculture which are (lack of) financing and high interest rates, collateral security and access to markets.
He said the land value can only be unlocked by making land transferable and loans availed at reasonable rates.
The deputy minister blasted people who were moving into farms as lacking sincerity.
He said such individuals did not share the same vision with the Zanu-PF Government as they never believed in the land redistribution programme when it started.
“People who want land now were not sympathetic to the land programme. Fresh land invasions should stop. They are absurd. They affect efforts to unlock the value of land.
“There is a paper that we are working on to unlock value on land. Land should be transferable not just 99-year leases. Banks will give loans if they know that land is transferable. Once this is done, then the farmer will produce. Government should, on the other hand help create markets for your products. The market is flooded by South
African and Zambian products,” he said.
Cde Zhanda said there was no policy on land utilisation and this needed to be addressed.
He said the country could not continue importing maize, milk and agricultural products when there were people who were given land.
The Goromonzi North legislator said Government should make it mandatory for all farmers to declare a certain percentage of their yield to the State.
He urged small-scale dairy farmers to change their business model and start focusing on buying more cattle to boost milk production.
Former Midlands Governor, Dr Cephas Msipa, who also attended the meeting, said it was in the national interest for Government to retain dairy farmers.
He said it would be a disaster if white commercial dairy farmers were all kicked out.
“Indigenous people should not just move into dairy farms simply because they are black. We need people who are capable, have the expertise and capacity to run dairy farms.
The idea is to improve production on these dairy farms,” he said.
Dep Min Zhanda and his team toured two dairy farms in the Gwenoro area in Somabhula.
Online Reporter