‘Zim has enough fertilisers’

called on Government to clarify funding mechanisms to ensure farmers access inputs in time.
The managing director of the Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company, Mr Richard Dafana, made these remarks yesterday during a tour of Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries’ plant in Harare by the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Water Lands and Resettlement.
“In discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture, the projection is that they (farmers) will do 45 000 hectares of wheat and barley and as an industry we have stocks of fertiliser to do more than that,” he said.
Mr Dafana said his company had 12 000 tonnes of compound and 8 000 tonnes of top-dressing fertilisers. He said they expected to produce a further 16 000 tonnes of compound and 10 000 tonnes of top-dressing fertilisers by the end of May. Another manufacturer, Windmill, also has similar amounts in stock.
“The problem now is that the financing mechanisms for farmers are not there. While Government says they will go into the market nothing has been done yet and we do not want to do the last minute rush.
“The Ministry of Agriculture said there would be US$10 million but the disbursement modalities are not clear yet. We would want all the inputs to be at the door of the farmer by the beginning of May,” he said. Mr Dafana said they were already looking at plans for the summer cropping season. Mr Misheck Kachere, the chief executive of Chemplex – the holding company of Zimphos, ZFC and Sable Chemicals – said he had been assured that there was enough fertiliser.
He said it was imperative that schemes like the one introduced by President Mugabe – Well-Wisher’s Inputs initiative – be introduced to assist farmers.
Mr Kachere said Government should ensure farmers are paid fairly for their produce as this had an effect on demand for agricultural inputs.
He said they were currently operating at 35 percent of capacity but hoped to increase to 60 percent by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the General Laws Amendment Bill sailed through the House of Assembly yesterday.