Sable shutdown threatens winter cropping
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Friday, 09 March 2012 11:07
Tabitha Mutenga, Staff Reporter
THE country’s 2012 wheat crop has lurched into another disaster after the
Zim-babwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) switched off the country’s
biggest manufacturer of ammonium nitrate over an electricity bill amounting
to aboutUS$37 million.
The move derailed eff-orts by farmers to acquire fertilisers for winter
croppi-ng, hurling the country to the brink of a serious shortage of
ammonium nitrate fertilisers.
Since last year, Sable, the fertiliser company, has struggled to settle its
power bills with ZESA, citing un-viable tariffs which have forced the
company to suspend fertiliser manufacturing.
In preparation for the 2011/2012 summer cropping season, local fertiliser
companies had been given exclusive rights to supply fertilisers but they
failed to supply adequate quantities resulting in the importation of urea.
Giving oral evidence on the country’s agricultural policy in relation to the
distribution of agricultural inp-uts, contract farming and livestock
restocking before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands,
Agri-culture, Water Developme-nt and Resettlement, the Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made said
manufacturing of ammonium nitrate at Sable Industries had been suspended.
“As we speak right now there is no top dressing fertiliser production that
is taking place. For the summer crop we had contracted for the delivery of
72?300 tonnes of fertiliser, only 15?700 were delivered. The rest had to be
complemented through imports,” Made said.
He added that Sable Industries had been swi-tched off without thought of the
repercussions on the agricultural sector and the economy.
“Sable Industries has been shut down when we are in the middle of making
compounds for the potato crop and preparations for the winter wheat crop.”
Despite the shut-down, most farmers have been reluctant to grow wheat for
the past two seasons due to the incessant power outages as the power
utility, ZESA, is failing to generate enough electricity to sustain the
eight-hour cycle needed for irrigating wheat.
Regardless of assurances from ZESA for minimum interruption supply of
electricity, farmers continued to experience power cuts, making it difficult
for them to complete their irrigation cycles.
Zimbabwe at its peak in the 2001/2 season produced more than 341000 tonnes
and since then the production has been declining drastically. Last season
recorded the worst ever performance of less than 15 000 tonnes although
government figures state that the country produced 45 000 tonnes of wheat
against a national requirement of 450 000 tonnes.
To make the situation dire, the Ministry of Finance agreed to put in place a
US$20 million facility to support wheat farmers in 2012.
“Even though I would have wanted a bigger budget, my hands are tied as
regards to financing from government and maybe we have to move towards some
other form of innovation to support farmers,” Made told the committee.
The money is enough to support an estimated 20?000 hectares
which is expected to produce 40 000 tonnes of wheat with the current wheat
yields of around two tonnes per hectare.
Addressing guests at the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) consultative
workshop, AMA chief executive officer Rockie Muteha said millers that
contracted 3 000 hectares of wheat under 2011 season only managed to
recover 7 890 tonnes out of 15 000 tonnes target due to side marketing.
“Many companies exp-ressed interest to participate in contract farming of
wheat as soon as a Grain Production and Marketing Framework that protects
their investment is gaz-etted,” Mutenha said.
Wheat planting season starts from March 15 to May 15.