Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Mat’South Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT has assured farmers of financial support as it moves to steer agricultural sector growth with a focus on achieving 100 percent food security by 2025 up from 45 percent in 2020.
Guided by the National Development Strategy (NDS1), Zimbabwe is targeting to increase maize production from 907 629 tons in 2020 to three million tons in 2025, among other deliverables.
Through the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), farmers can access loans to invest into their operations as they are encouraged to treat farming as a business.
Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Vangelis Haritatos, who was in Gwanda recently said the rebranded state entity will provide loans for farmers who run schemes as businesses.
“Government recently rebranded the former Agribank to Agricultural Finance Corporation while the Agricultural Rural Development Authority (Arda) through its rural development division is ready to work with farmers,” he said.
“AFC will provide loans for farmers who run schemes as businesses while Arda is ready to assist with farming expertise through the provision of scheme business managers.”
The Deputy Minister said provision of key support to both vulnerable and smallholder farmers, fostering market linkages and climate proofing all agriculture support programmes were Government’s top priority for Matabeleland South.
“The implementation of market-based programmes, which include the private sector and improve competitiveness of agriculture commodities on the domestic and international markets are also a priority,” he said.
“President Mnangagwa is on record saying the Second Republic will not leave anyone behind as it moves towards the attainment of Vision 2030.”
The revitalisation of dilapidated irrigation schemes in Matabeleland South has been cited as the panacea to perennial droughts experienced in the dry region.
Silalatshani Irrigation Scheme in Insiza District is one of the biggest schemes in the province with 865 farmers operating on a 462-hectare piece of land.
The scheme had stalled over the years owing to an array of challenges ranging from leaking canals to poor management.
The Second Republic has, however, revived the irrigation scheme through the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP) and farmers are bullish of returning the scheme to its glory days.
Insiza South legislator, Spare Sithole, called on farmers to take farming seriously and utilise opportunities availed by Government.
“It’s so disheartening to find someone saying that their child should be included in BEAM or that he or she should be included on the social welfare food list yet they’re in the scheme,” he said.
“We should take farming as a business and develop ourselves.
We should utilise the opportunities Government has availed. Government has availed water and free inputs,” said Sithole.
SIRP is a US$52 million programme established in 2016 to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to food and nutrition insecurity, climate change effects and economic shocks as well as contribute to the resilience of smallholder farming communities.
The programme is expected to revitalise 60 irrigation schemes covering 6 100 hectares in Manicaland, Masvingo, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces.
It targets over 27 500 rural households where 15 000 households are irrigators and 12 500 households are in the adjacent rain-fed areas.
In Matabeleland South Province, nine schemes in Gwanda, Mangwe, Beitbridge and Insiza will be rehabilitated under the SIRP programme.
Through the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, Government seeks to develop a robust agriculture sector proficient in turning around and steering Matabeleland South towards Vision 2030 by providing strategic responses to the increasing population. — @Yolisswa
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