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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE Government is targeting to raise $1.5 billion for the 2016/17 agricultural season and is engaging the private sector in financing the ambitious project.
About $500 million is also required for the livestock sector in the same period. This comes at a time when the Government has declared that in the next two years it should not be importing grain.
Presenting the Mid Term Policy review last Thursday, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Patrick Chinamasa said the 2016/17 farming season should be the agricultural sector’s turning point.
“Preparations for the forthcoming summer cropping season are already underway and Government, in consultation with the private sector, is working on the respective financing arrangements. The forthcoming programme targets to put 2.25 million hectares under crop production at an estimated cost of more than $1.5 billion,” said Minister Chinamasa.
He said livestock intervention programmes will require an estimated $500 million.
The Government recently launched the command agriculture programme which will see 400 000 hectares put under maize in the coming three seasons.
Minister Chinamasa said the programme should produce more than two million tonnes of maize as the country seeks to do away with maize imports.
“Of this targeted hectarage, 264 000 hectares is dry land, while 136 000 hectares is irrigable. This import substitution maize production programme targets both A1 and A2 farmer-participants as well as Government institutional farms, particularly those near water bodies,” Minister Chinamasa.
“Already, more than 310 000 hectares of land has been identified, of which over 105 000 hectares is irrigable land, while over 204 000 hectares is dry land.”
Minister Chinamasa said farmers have started committing themselves to the programme through signing performance based contracts.
“The programme will cost approximately $516 million for the initial three years, and key expenditures relate to inputs and labour, including harvesting costs, land preparation and transport expenses,” he said.
Minister Chinamasa said there is willingness in the banking sector to support this national programme.
“Accordingly, Government and the banking sector are mobilising resources to assist the fertiliser manufacturing companies to import raw materials to boost production,” said Minister Chinamasa.
He said for the next two years the Government will remove restrictions on fertiliser imports due to high cost of the local product.
“Government will monitor pricing for imported fertilizer to ensure farmers are not shortchanged as it expects a gradual decline in prices of agricultural produce,” he said.
The Minister said the country will be supporting more than 800 000 households with farming inputs in the coming agricultural season to the cost of $62 million.
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