‘Zim needs $1,8bn to resuscitate agric sector’

MUTARE — Zimbabwe requires $1,8 billion to revive its agricultural sector that is currently in shambles, the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union executive director (ZFU) Paul Zachariah has said.

BY CLAYTON MASEKESA

In an interview with NewsDay recently on the side-lines of the ZFU Manicaland province stakeholders’ cocktail, Zachariah said ZFU was advocating for the total revival of the agricultural sector.

“If we are to talk of serious agriculture in this country, we still have a long way to go. The private sector and government should play their mandatory and complimentary roles if we are talking of total revival of agriculture,” he said.

“Before we talk of anything we need adequate financial resources. We need $1,8 billion to revive agriculture. We need a smooth process where farmers access financial resources. Banks should be able to finance agriculture at commercial levels. No farmer can produce at commercial level with their own resources. That requires borrowing.”

Zachariah also decried the non-availability of inputs at the right cost to meet the requirements of farmers.

“Why do we always do last minute rushes to import top-dressing fertiliser? Why is top-dressing fertiliser always a challenge in terms of availability and cost? The cost of our inputs gives the cost of production too much weight,” he said.

Zacharaiah said farmers in Zimbabwe were getting a raw deal and were not motivated to produce.

“Why is the cost of production always high in Zimbabwe compared to neighbouring countries like Malawi, Zambia, Botswana or South Africa? Fertiliser is fertiliser and what makes the Zimbabwean fertiliser more special and very expensive than that of Malawi?” Zacharia said.

As Zimbabwe moves to revive its agricultural sector, the country’s new farmers continue to face challenges that include access to capital, lack of adequate machinery and climate change.

Thousands of commercial farmers lost their arable land when Zimbabwe started seizing white owned farms in 2000, in what the ruling Zanu PF party claimed was an attempt to address a lop-sided agricultural system controlled by the minority.

The new farm owners, however, say they have received little State assistance to embark on proper farming. They say farming inputs are expensive and the government is failing to introduce subsidised extensive irrigation schemes on farms grabbed from white farmers.