CFU submits proposal to restore agric viability
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 15 July 2011 16:29
Staff Reporter
THE embattled Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has submitted proposals to government aimed at restoring viability in the country’s struggling
agricultural sector. The move signals efforts by the CFU, which represents
dispossessed white commercial farmers, to reach out to government, whose
agrarian reforms triggered an economic crisis that plunged the country from
being a regional bread basket into a basket case.
In its submissions to the two Vice-Presidents John Nkomo and Joice Mujuru
through their respective State Ministers as well as to several government
ministers, the CFU said revival of the country’s agricultural sector should
focus on restructuring the current set-up to ensure that new farmers are
empowered, while outstanding disputes are settled by compensating the
disposed former white commercial farmers.
The proposal was also sent to the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and
Irrigation Devel-opment, Joseph Made through his permanent secretary, Ngoni Masoka.
CFU vice-president, Charles Taffs, said the union was looking forward to a
positive response from the State players.
“We sent the proposal to the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee
on Thursday (and) also to the two Vice-President’s offices through the
Minister of State in the office of Vice-President Joice Mujuru, Sylvester
Nguni and to Flora Buka, the Minister of State in the office of
Vice-President John Nkomo,” he said.
“The pragmatic thing is for government to recl-aim the value of land; there
is need to unlock its importance towards the country’s economy,” Taffs
added.
CFU comprises of former white commercial farmers whose land was expropriated by government under the land reform programme over a decade ago for the resettlement of black farmers government says were disposed by the settler colonial regime.
The few white farmers remaining have continued to face persecution and
forced eviction despite government’s reassurance that land acquisition has
been completed.
Farm disruptions and evictions continue and most farmers have lost household goods, machinery and years of hard work on the farms without being compensated.
According to the proposal, the solution to reviving agriculture would
include a new land tenure system that would allow land to be tradable on the
open market.
New farmers would purchase land rights by paying government over time for
the land allocated to them under the land reforms and previous farmers would
rece-ive compensation throu-gh a payment plan.
“This will enable all farmers to fully invest and produce with confidence.
One of the key principles behind financing agriculture in this way is to
avoid burdening the nation’s tax payers for the benefit of those selectively
empowered by access to a finite national resource, ” the agricultural
proposal explained.
A key feature of the proposal is the establishment of the Agricultural
Recovery Bank for the provision of short, medium and long-term finance.
Each of these loan types would be underwritten by the inherent value of the
agricultural businesses and the land on which a farmer operates.
The recognition of the core value of business infrastructure and land as the
basis on which secure lending can be facilitated would the first step, the
CFU suggested.
Management, monitoring and evaluation of the bank’s performance would
require independent and accountable governance to protect the bank’s
investors and ensure that the bank remained competitive to attract
substantial private sector international investment.
As part of the proposal, a land commission would have to be app-ointed by
government to monitor and implement policy on the land issue as well as the
appointment of an agricultural asset audit to allow for a complete
understanding of the ownership, occupation and value of all land in the
country.
“This proposal does not seek to dictate the way forward for the
agricultural sector, rather, it should be seen as a contribution that
attempts to take a candid look at how a new dispensation might become
fully empowered, and at the same time, engage the considerable value that
can be leveraged through an integrated approach to the problem of
compensation,” Taffs said.