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During a meeting between senior seed houses management and President Mugabe at State House in Harare yesterday, the team revealed that the country had adequate grains seed supply and said all that remained was to transform that into food security.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development permanent secretary Mr Ngoni Masoka is on record as having said Zimbabwe had 64 000 tonnes of seed maize while the country needs 45 000 tonnes.
In 2009 between 15 000 and 20 000 tonnes of seed maize was imported through legal channels, while an additional substantial amount was imported illegally across borders according to a policy brief released by Agritex.
Seed Co public relations manager Ms Majorie Mutemererwa said the team had gone to apprise the President on developments in the seed industry.
“Four years ago Zimbabwe was relying on seed imports as it was failing to meet local demand.
“President Mugabe invited seed houses to discuss challenges faced by our industry,” she said.
Pioneer Hi-Bred Zimbabwe agronomy manager Mr Simba Gotosa said the company had already dispatched seed to retailers in provinces and districts and farmers had started buying although in low volumes.
“We also have an input programme for civil servants whereby they get seed and pay through a stop order facility,” he said.
Pioneer partnered with Windmill and contracted farmers providing them with seed and fertilisers.
Pannar Seeds managing director Mr Themba Nkatazo said the uptake was slow and the company had introduced a credit facility for farmers.
“We are going to assist farmers with seed and fertilizers and will be targeting mostly the uniformed forces,” he said.
Ms Mutemererwa said the seed industry faced challenges with the new crop of farmers who did not have enough funding and knowledge on seed production.
“We now have solved part of the challenge and what is now left is to transform seed security into food security,’ she said.
Ms Mutemererwa said seed houses had already dispatched seed to retailers at provincial and district levels for easy accessibility by farmers.
She said the President pledged that Government was going to put mechanisms that would ensure farmers access seed without difficulties.
The seed houses confirmed that the seed uptake had remained low with suppliers and retailers blaming it on cash shortages.
A 10-kilogramme bag of seed is selling at prices ranging from US$23-US$28 while a 25-kilogramme bag is selling at between US$60-US$101 depending on the variety.
A survey by The Herald established that seed and fertilizers were now readily available in retail outlets with each seed house having a representative to assist farmers to buy the correct variety for their area.
The representatives said the uptake had been very slow but had started to pick two days ago after rains in some parts of the country.
Seed Co said representatives reported that well established farmers were buying seed and fertilizers in bulk while those with little resources were buying small packs.
Ms Mutemererwa said some farmers still required support for inputs and Seed Co was continuing with input credit schemes for civil servants and workers in the private sector.
Mr Gotosa said some beneficiaries failed to pay back and this season the company had not yet finalised the contract system.
Last year Pioneer contracted some farmers but said it would this season only consider seed growers for the facility.
“The repayment was not encouraging and so far we have not finalised on the contract scheme but preference will be given to seed growers and farmers who settled their debts,” he said.
Windmill chief executive officer Mr George Rundogo said the fertilizer industry had enough stock and was continuing to produce more.
“We expect the uptake to pick beyond of this month onwards,” he said.
Mr Rundogo said the fertilizer industry was, however, not going to continue with the credit schemes and urged farmers to buy using cash.
leeroy
Online Reporter