Command agric farmers assured of 20m litres fuel per week

FARMERS taking part in the government-funded Command Agriculture programme will soon be getting 20 million litres of fuel per week, Energy deputy minister Magna Mudyiwa, told Parliament last week.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

Mudyiwa told the National Assembly that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) was also in the process of setting up special fuel distribution facilities from where the farmers would get the fuel.

“Farmers under the command agriculture programme are set to benefit from a 20 million litres per week facility that has been availed by government, and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been alerted of the arrangements and is waiting for the estimated fuel requirements of the farmers,” Mudyiwa said.

“The fuel will be released through Puma, which is handling the Command Agriculture programme.”

She said the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement was also working with the Energy ministry to identify farmers with fuel storage facilities throughout the country.

“Once identified, fuel for farmers will be taken to these facilities from which farmers will pick their fuel. Since farmers on the Command Agriculture programme are issued with coupons, they merely redeem these from the sites. Zera was engaged and had no objection to the use of these storage sites for fuel distribution to other farmers,” she said.

Mudyiwa said the RBZ had put in place measures to improve fuel availability in the country, adding that while some of the facilities were already functional, others were work in progress.

“There is already an improvement in the fuel supply situation due to the implementation of various fuel supply facilities,” Mudyiwa said.