admin
Harare Bureau
Farmers have hailed the re-appointment of Dr Joseph Made as the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, saying his experience will ensure there is continuity.The farmers said Dr Made had a solid foundation to start his work from and knows the exact challenges being faced by the industry.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa said he also welcomed the two deputy ministers who will together with Dr 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 Cde Patrick Chinamasa was from the ruling party, funding of the agriculture sector was going to improve.
“We expect provisions of subsidised inputs including working capital,” he said. “We expect timeous payment of farmers who would have delivered their crops to the Grain Marketing Board and obviously production is going to increase.”
Zimbabwe Farmers Union second vice president Mr Berean Mukwende said as farmers they welcomed the re-appointment of Dr 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 Dr 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 Dr Made and his deputies to convince banks to reduce interest rates on loans so that farmers could access affordable funding.
Some farmers said they expected Deputy Minister Zhanda to revive the Cold Storage Commission. Speaking after his re-appointment, Dr Made said funding was the major challenge affecting agricultural production.
He said it was important that farmers improve their yields.
Online Reporter