Patrick Chitumba/Mthabisi Tshuma, Business reporters

FARMERS have welcomed Government’s decision to implement the maximum farm size policy in line with climatic conditions in the country’s five agro-ecological regions.

In taking the decision, Government expects the move to ensure more people have access to the land resource and boost capacity utilisation. This follows concerns that some farms were unnecessarily big and underutilised.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU) director, Mr Paul Zakariya, said the move will revive the agriculture sector.

“We have seen this as a move to ensure that more people will have more access to land and that will increase production,” he said in an interview.

“This will also ease the pressure for those who have for a while been on the waiting list and are anxious to take part mostly in the agriculture field.”

Mr Zakariya said the trimming of farm sizes must be followed by a robust training programme to capacitate new beneficiaries to ensure the farms were put to productive use.

“We are now advocating for technical production skills to be given to the next beneficiaries. The training will help them to get into farming with a clear understanding of what the industry is all about,” he said.

Youth in Agriculture Apex Council Board (YAACB) chairperson, Mr John Muchenje, said the ball was now in the Government’s court to ensure that youths and women benefit more from the programme.

“We have been pushing for productive youths and women to benefit from land and we feel that this is the right time for that. President Mnangagwa has been on record saying more land will be availed to us. We believe this is the time and we commend his Government for that positive move,” he said. 

“We can’t be seen importing maize and wheat when we have a geared youth, favourable conditions and vast tracts of lands,” he said.

“Land is a national resource and must be equally distributed to Zimbabweans who have interests in agriculture. 

“We expect to see more land coming to the youth and women.  So, we are looking forward to appropriate land distribution which will in turn maximise production in the country.”

Mrs Nonceba Mwedzi Agwaniru, a young farmer from Bulawayo said as the youth they were 100 percent behind the Government move.

“We are supporting this move because many youths and women in Bulawayo province and other parts of the country are failing to venture into agriculture because they don’t have land,” she said.

Mr Tapiwa Masenda a farmer from Mashonaland West province said youths and women were prepared to work in the fields to make the country the bread basket for the region once again.

“We embrace this decision by the Government with both hands as the youths and women in agriculture. We feel we must be prioritised as we are the most energetic group in the country,” he said.

The farmers said Zimbabwe must adopt the Kenyan model, which puts more priority on vulnerable groups such as youth and women on all empowerment initiatives.

Government compulsorily acquired more than 12 million hectares of arable land previously occupied by white farmers, resulting in hundreds of black beneficiaries getting vast swathes of land, some of which a number of farmers are failing to put to effective use.