Andrew
Leroy Dzenga in Chisumbanje recently
Government has guaranteed farmers in regions that are incompatible with maize production with access to the staple, as they move to alternatives, which work best under their climatic conditions.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka, said farmers in region 4 and 5 should gravitate towards drought resistant crops, unless they have irrigation.
“We should embrace small grains. It makes little sense for farmers in region 5, and other similar regions to persist with planting maize, especially if they are not on irrigation. The soils may be good, but rain-fed agriculture will not result in sustainable yields,” he said.
He made these remarks at a ceremony in Chisumbanje, on Saturday, where Greenfuels availed 253 irrigated 0,5 hectare plots to some of the farmers who were displaced when the ethanol producer entered into a joint venture with ARDA in 2009.
Dr Masuka said fears by farmers that they will not get access to maize, if they do not grow the crop have been addressed through a grain-swap system, which is being introduced soon.
“We know people like maize sadza. When we say farmers should not grow it unless their conditions permit, we are not saying they should forgo eating maize.
“We have come up with a plan, in which farmers will take their sorghum to their nearest GMB (Grain Marketing Board) and for every bucket of sorghum, millet, or rapoko, they will get one bucket and a gallon of maize,” he said.
The Minister said a system has been put in place to ensure that the grain swaps are done at every GMB depot in the country.
Dr Masuka said Government will try its best to ensure some communal farmers have access to water, giving them wider choices in which crop to pursue.
The Minister was presiding over the handover of plots to farmers who were displaced when Greenfuel took over the ARDA estate in Chisumbanje, on the back of a joint venture agreement around 2009.
Known to be one of the longest running battles between locals and investors in the country, the point of contention can be traced back to 2009 when Greenfuel entered the Chisumbanje area on the back of joint venture with the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA).
Minister Masuka said with the irrigated being given to them, farmers must graduate from being subsistence farmers to being businesspeople practicing intensive production.
Before the coming in of Greenfuel, and the eventual adoption of a revival plan, ARDA had for long been struggling and farmers whose fields bordered with ARDA Chisumbanje estate started encroaching into the 40 000 hectare land.
Over time, farmers centred their livelihoods around the extra land they had accessed and when Greenfuel came in, about 500 households were directly affected.
Greenfuel has availed irrigated 0,5 hectare plots, to build part of the households in a phased approach.
The company`s general manager, Mr Conrad Rautenbach, said they have found each other with the community.
“A lot of the disputes in the past were miscommunication. We work with our partners; ARDA provides the land and we provide the investment.
“Now the dispute is being fixed and the community will realise that we deliver on our promises. We want to continue working with the community, as we have a number of different community projects that we do,” said Mr Rautenbach.
The plots are spread over 186 hectares.
Chipinge South legislator, Honourable Enock Porusingazi said he is happy with the level of dialogue between Greenfuel and the people of Chisumbanje.
In the past, relations were acrimonious, but it seems efforts to restitute what has been lost productively, are mending a bridge, which was in the past shaky.
Online Reporter