adminAgriculture Reporter
Farmers have said the re-appointment of Dr Joseph Made as the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation is good for the agricultural sector as it will ensure continuity.The farmers said Minister Made had a solid foundation to start his work from and knows the exact challenges being faced in the industry.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa said he also welcomed the appointment of the two deputy ministers who work with Minister Made to attend to the critical issues affecting agricultural productivity.
The deputy ministers are Cde David Marapira, who is in charge of Cropping, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development and Cde Paddy Zhanda who is responsible for Livestock.
Mr Chabikwa said now that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa was from the ruling party, funding of the agriculture sector would improve.
“We expect provisions of subsidised inputs including working capital. We expect timeous payment of farmers who would have delivered their crops to the Grain Marketing Board and obviously production is going to increase,” he said.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union second vice president Mr Berean Mukwende said as farmers they welcomed the re-appointment of Minister Made because of his experience and expertise in the sector.
“His expertise dates back to his days at the Agricultural Rural Development Authority and he is a qualified agriculturalist who is able to spearhead transformation of the agriculture sector,” he said.
Mr Mukwende said Minister Made had brilliant programmes and a vision for the sector, but these had been disrupted by former Finance Minister Tendai Biti who declined to release funds for the programmes.
“His vision will now be realised and with the assistance of the two deputies, we expect the sector to grow,” he said.
The farmers said they expected Minister Made and his deputies to convince banks to reduce interest rates on loans so that farmers could access affordable funding.
Speaking after his re-appointment, Minister Made said funding was the major challenge affecting agricultural production. He said it was important that farmers improved their yields.
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