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Tawanda Mangoma Chiredzi Correspondent
GROSS misuse of funds by sugarcane farmers has forced the Commercial Sugarcane Farmers Association of Zimbabwe (CSFAZ) to roll out a five-day business and financial management training workshop for its 650 members.
The development comes as a wake up call to sugarcane farmers who are preparing to receive a windfall for sugarcane deliveries made last month.
CSFAZ chairperson Admore Hwarare said Chiredzi town was running short of parking space as sugarcane farmers continue to purchase vehicles while neglecting funding farming operations.
Hwarare said they had to roll out a compulsory business and finance management training workshop targeting their members with the aim of “polishing” them into professional farmers.
“Most sugarcane farmers have never received cash in its huge quantities in their lifetime but have been afforded a chance. The problem now is farmers are purchasing vehicles while they don’t budget for the coming cropping season,” said Hwarare.
“We saw it necessary to conduct training on business and financial management for our members with the aim of discouraging dependence on financial institutions when we have capacity to fund our operations.”
Most farmers are still struggling to settle debts they acquired during the previous cropping season while others are failing to budget the income they receive to meet the year’s expenses such as salaries and acquisition of inputs.
CSFAZ Assistant Finance and Admini stration Officer Lookwise Mutomani said the association held the training workshop to equip farmers with knowledge on proper financial handling in preparation for the coming season.
“Financial management is the most critical area in which most of our members were still lagging behind as they failed to treat farming as a business which needs proper managerial skills just like any other business,” he said.
Mutomani said CSFAZ is advocating for farmer-sustained agricultural operations and that could only be realised if sugarcane farmers discarded the practice of relying on financial institutions for loans.
“We want sustainable agriculture; farmers must fund their operations thereby divorcing financial institutions which they accuse of charging exorbitant interest rates. This can only be achieved if one understands the basic principles of the importance of creating a savings fund which will lubricate your farming operations in times of crisis,” he said.
The association also engaged the Zimbabwe Sugar Association Experimental Station to equip farmers with knowledge on key steps they should employ as they venture into a new sugarcane growing season.
Sugarcane farmers said they were benefiting from the training as evidenced by the improvement in their production capacity.
Online Reporter