Minister Joseph Made

Harare Bureau
BANKS have set aside nearly $1 billion to support the 2015/16 agricultural season as the government yesterday started moving crop inputs under the Presidential Inputs Well-Wishers Scheme to farming areas to benefit almost 350,000 households and the vulnerable.

On the $1 billion facility, Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe president Sam Malaba said yesterday that negotiations with the government were on-going for the majority of farmers to access funding but said the bulk of money was earmarked for strategic crops and livestock production.

The banks and the government have been discussing how to make documents such as the 99-year leases bankable, although individual farmers can still approach the financial institutions to negotiate for funding under the facility.

Malaba said $937 million of the $1 billion facility was earmarked to support strategic crops such as tobacco, maize, sugar cane, cotton, soya beans and livestock production, mainly beef cattle, poultry and pigs to ensure food security.

“Banks continue to be supportive of agricultural activities in the country and have clear understanding that increased agricultural production is dependent on availability of adequate financing for the sector,” Malaba said.

He said despite the strong willingness of banks to finance the agricultural sector, a number of factors were still militating against the efforts. These, he said, included lack of an effective farmers’ stop order system to ring fence encumbered sales of produce by farmers to deal with the problem of side marketing.

Malaba said there were no competitive marketing systems and structures in the country, which has led to breaks in the agricultural value chain.

The ring fencing model for proceeds of agricultural sales funded by private sector has worked well for tobacco and to a reasonable extent, cotton production.

Banks are also concerned about over borrowing and side marketing by farmers.

“In line with Zim-Asset, there is need to fast track the Agricultural Commodity Receipt Act and the Warehouse Receipt System to ensure that farmers are able to use their receipts as security for loans from banks,” said Malaba.

On the Presidential Inputs Well-Wishers Scheme, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made said the government had mobilised seed maize and fertilisers which was being delivered to the provinces.

He said at least $500,000 has been set aside for cloud seeding.

“Treasury has authorised the acquiring of inputs through the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development,” said Minister Made. “The contract to start delivering inputs to various depots has been signed.”