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The analysts told Business Chronicle that farmers should stop being dependent upon Government and the private sector for the provision of inputs season after season.
As a result of the strategic importance of agriculture in Zimbabwe’s economy, the Government and the private sector have committed themselves to supporting the sector by availing agricultural subsidies that include fertilisers, seed and chemicals.
“The farmers, like any other business, should stop relying on Government each and every farming season. They should use the proceeds from their activities to expand their operations. Instead they should be asking how best they can get the funding and not depend on subsidies from Government and the private sector each and every season,” said an economic analyst Mr Sam Ncube.
He said relying on subsidies from Government and the private sector for inputs provision was one of the fundamentals hampering productivity in the sector.
Of late, farmers have not been able to meet deadlines for their activities such as planting dates for crops like wheat due to late provision of funding and inputs by Government. “Farmers should be able to source their own inputs in time to avoid compromising their farming schedules.”
Another economic analyst, Ms Chipo Warikandwa, said farming as a business should be able to fund itself.
“Although it is a fact that our economy is facing liquidity challenges, like any other business, it is high time that farmers stand up and save the little money generated from their businesses so that they do not over-depend on subsidies. This will help them to plan and eventually improve on production levels.
“We also believe that farming is a business that generates income. So if the farmers are always relying on Government support each and every season, where are they putting the little resources being generated from their activities?” she said.
However, an agronomist, Mr Thomas Nherera, said throughout the world agriculture was viewed as the social responsibility of a nation.
As a result of this, he said, different countries set up special national banks to support farming activities, adding that the Agricultural Finance Corporation was set up in 1924 with the primary role of supporting farmers.
“Due to the strategic importance of agriculture to national economies, it is important that farmers are supported in order to boost productivity in the sector. In the case of Zimbabwe, output has declined over the past decade due to the state of the economy. The current challenges facing the economy also leave limited space for the farmers to be self- reliant in terms of production,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union executive director Mr Paul Zakariya said the tight liquidity situation in the economy resulted in funding being expensive.
“Loans from banks are very expensive. Even in cases where some of the farmers are able to access funding from banks, delays in payment by the market increase the risk for defaulting by the farmers. As a result, there is the need for a specific package where Government brings in finance for agriculture,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Mr Donald Khumalo said there was need for stakeholders to support agriculture particularly at a time when the economy was yet to realise its full potential.
“As farmers, we are not spared from the economic challenges. We need to understand that farmers, just like industrialists, do not have the money to stimulate our productivity to full-scale. In the past few years, whenever farmers planted and delivered their crop to the market, they have not been paid on time resulting in a vicious struggle chain,” he said.
Mr Khumalo said ZCFU had already started working on its funding requirements for the 2012/13 summer cropping season.
Online Reporter