Chronicle Editor
Tawanda Mangoma in Chiredzi
Some sugarcane farmers in Chiredzi have been accused of diverting subsidised inputs from Tongaat Hullet Zimbabwe onto the market.
Authorities are concerned that the farmers’ activities would affect the targeted yield of 600 000 tonnes of sugar next season.
The practice is reportedly being fuelled by farmers who fail to maintain their crops.
Sugarcane yields have been deteriorating over the years, despite the farmers getting assistance to improve their activities.
In a recent interview, Chiredzi West legislator Cde Darlington Chiwa said most farmers selling their inputs rarely visited their plots.
“Fertilisers are found all over Chiredzi,” he said. “You see trucks ferrying them from Mkwasine and Hippo Valley whenever farmers get their allocations.
“Sugarcane farming is a business just like any other. The moment one makes a decision to sell inputs, it means they are heading for disaster.
“If Government was willing to name the plot owners in Chiredzi who have run-down their once viable pieces of land, you will be shocked by the numbers.”
Chiredzi South MP, Brigadier General (Rtd) Kalisto Gwanetsa denounced “cellphone” farmers, who go for months without paying their workers, leading to poor management of their plots.
“Once farmers sell their inputs, the crops will never reach their potential until they are ploughed out,” he said. “It’s very sad for a farmer to acquire fertiliser at a cost of $25 per bag from Tongaat and then decide to sell for $10 on the black market. It’s just pathetic, look at the credit gap created.
“Farmers should be on the ground because cellphone farmers will always suffer as they divert their inputs.”
Chiredzi North legislator Cde Robert Mukwena urged Tongaat Hullet Zimbabwe to brand or mark their inputs to minimise illegal trading.
“Fertilisers for Hippo Valley farmers must be easily identifiable, he said. Those for Mkwasine must also be clearly marked. Once a bag of fertiliser from
Mkwasine is found in Chiredzi, then the police must confiscate and give it back to Tongaat.”
Sugarcane farmers were urged to up their game so that production levels returned to the average 600 000 tonnes per season.
The target was last reached in 2009, and has since been declining due to various reasons.
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