adminFreedom Mutanda
FIFTEEN A2 Middle Sabi farmers are appealing to Government to bail them out in their bid to become productive farmers by making the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe honour its obligations of paying them since 2007. A farmer who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some of them had abandoned wheat farming in 2007, but they had to revisit the decision after promises by RBZ that they would be paid in foreign currency.
‘’As farmers, we sacrificed a lot to grow wheat in 2007 after many had abandoned the crop and we were promised payment in foreign currency by the former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Dr Gideon Gono, ‘’ he lamented.
Unfortunately no payments were made, leaving farmers in limbo.
Farmers were given three payment options and they thought their lives would improve exponentially in the wake of these three options.
‘’The first option was to receive fertilizer as payment. However, the RBZ fertilizer was expensive with a bag costing $40, yet the prevailing market price was $20, further, one had to go and collect the fertilizer in Harare.
“A 30-tonne truck from Harare to Middle Sabi cost $1 600. Although some farmers took that option, they incurred losses. As a result, they cannot say they benefited from the wheat production,” said the farmer.
Some farmers opted for the second option of having their produce paid in Zimbabwean currency.
While some batches of farmers took the first and second options, the rest of the Middle Sabi farmers, 15 of them, decided to wait for their produce to be paid in foreign currency.
Their reason was mainly that the Zimbabwe dollar was fast losing value and they could not stomach selling their wheat for a song.
“It is true that a third of the wheat was paid for in United States dollars during the 2009/ 2010 season. Notably, up to now, two thirds of the money hasn’t been paid. We are appealing to Government to capacitate RBZ for it to pay us,’’ said the farmer.
Production of wheat has fallen drastically in recent years with a paltry 6 000 hectares being planted nationally.
An agronomist, Mr Teramai Maposa, noted that the decline in the production of wheat was due to a plethora of reasons, but he felt Zimbabwe can walk again if all stakeholders unite for a better agricultural future.
‘’Major reasons for the decline include lack of finance, high input costs, erratic supply of electricity, late payment by GMB and low profit margins among others. It is clear that those impediments to a successful wheat crop are not insurmountable.
“Banks, Government and the farmers can chart the way forward if they meet as concerned stakeholders. Granted, farmers are failing to get finance from commercial banks as they lack collateral.
“Consequently, vast tracts of land lies idle, much to the disadvantage of everyone including Government. This is not the time to pass the buck, but to sit down and find each other,” he said.
Government recently announced that it had stopped inputs handouts to A1 and A2 farmers due to the prevailing harsh economic conditions.
A former foreman at Farm 33, Mr Kudzai Nkumbula, said it would be difficult for farmers to finance their activities as farming is capital intensive.
‘’Importing wheat costs Government more than it will incur if it pays local farmers,” he said.
A former farm manager, Mr Patrick Manyurure, said farmers themselves had to know that farming is a business and must be treated as such.
“It is important for everyone to know that Government has funding challenges, but it has to be complemented by an aggressive farmer.
“Banks must get into the economic revival mix. Moreover, banks must finance agriculture at low interest rates because they will also be winners at the end of the day. A mechanism of supervising farmers has to be put in place. Rewarding success is essential,” he said.
Online Reporter