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Farming Correspondent
FARMERS in Zimbabwe have hailed President Mugabe’s input support scheme programme and said the initiative would boost their output in this year’s marketing season. The Presidential Input Scheme which covers all the country’s ten provinces was funded to the tune of US $33 million for the 2010/11 agricultural season.
In previous years, farmers were not adequately supported, making it difficult for them to secure inputs on time.
This, coupled with the high prices for inputs made the country to struggle for food security, but President Mugabe availed funds for the input support programme to ensure food security at household level.
Domboshava residents are expected to receive inputs from the Presidential input scheme, a move which will see farmers realising their potential in this year’s farming season.
Speaking to The People’s Voice after collecting farming inputs under the support scheme at Grain Marketing Board’s Cleveland Depot in Masasa recently, ZANU-PFDCC Chairman for Goromonzi North and West, Cde Boniface Mutize confirmed that farmers in Domboshava would also benefit.
“Farmers are expected to receive fertilisers to ensure better yields in this year’s farming season,” said Cde Mutize.
“I am going to ferry the fertilisers to Domboshava and some parts of Goromonzi to ensure farmers get their inputs at their wards if not at their doorsteps.” Cde Mutize hailed the President for his unwavering commitment to farmers and enhancing the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe.
He castigated all MDC formations for sabotaging agriculture and trying to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle.
“MDC-T has been sabotaging the land reform programme, a clear testimony of dancing according to the tune of their masters, who are the country’s detractors, Britain and her Western allies.
“For Africa to again feed itself and rejoin the league of agriculture exporting regions, we need an African green revolution to increase the productivity and profitability of farmers,” he said.
The subsidy programme in the country is already being seen as a model by a growing number of African Governments and International Development and agriculture agencies.
African farmers are the only ones who were not receiving input support programmes from their respective Governments while their counter- parts in other continents such as Europe and Asia are said to be receiving more than US $300 billion in Government support programmes annually.
The late Malawian President, Bingu WaMutharika embarked on a Presidential input support programme and yielded positive results.
The action cut fertiliser prices by 80 per cent and slashed the cost of hybrid maize seeds from 600 kwacha per bag to 30 kwacha.
The impact was dramatic as the following year saw Malawi’s maize harvest double to more than 2.7 million tonnes.
It rose again in 2007 to 3.4 million tonnes enough to feed the nation and send 400 000 tonnes to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and hundreds of thousands of tonnes to neighbouring countries, generating about US $120 million in sales. The formerly aid-dependent country even donated 10 000 tonnes of maize to the WFP’s nutrition programme for people living with HIV and AIDS.
In a related development, over 3 000 urban small holder farmers from Harare’s Highfield suburb recently received maize seed and fertiliser from the President Mugabe’s inputs support scheme.
The beneficiaries were advised to use the inputs wisely and desist from corruption in order to have a fruitful agricultural season.
Online Reporter