Govt sets aside $199m for grain

Herald Reporter
Government has set aside $199 million to purchase grain delivered by farmers following a successful 2016/ 17 agricultural season, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said. He said Government resolved issues of inadequate grain storage, with capacity now available for 3,2 million tonnes against expected deliveries from farmers supported under the Presidential Input Scheme and Command Agriculture of 2,2 million tonnes.

“The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has put aside $199 million to purchase the grain,” said VP Mnangagwa.

“The $199 million will take on board a total of 500 000 tonnes of grain. The Grain Millers Association has also come forward offering to purchase 800 000 tonnes of grain and they are paying that in advance, that is in the kit, so we are just waiting for deliveries to pay farmers.”

VP Mnangagwa said Government would first need to deal with harvesting capacity, as the country had 130 combine harvesters, with only 80 of them being functional.

He said addressing internal harvesting capacity would allow swift transition from summer to winter cropping, which was critical for the country to achieve optimal yields from its winter crop.

VP Mnangagwa said Government mobilised the requisite funding to repair the faulty harvesters.

“We have identified the make, manufacturer or dealer of each of the harvester which requires attention,” he said.

“We have mobilised funds for rehabilitation and repairing of harvesters that require repairing, but that is not adequate to cover all the requirements in the country.”