Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
THE Midlands province has a deficit of 93,000 tonnes of cereals after recording one of the worst harvests in five years due to erratic rainfall. Addressing delegates at the Midlands Show Society Indaba on Friday, the provincial agriculture research and extension services officer, Peter Chamisa, said 1.6 million people would require food aid.

“The province is facing a food deficit of 93,176 tonnes so we really have to mobilise resources to address the situation,” he said.

Chamisa said the 2014/15 season was now water under the bridge and stressed the need to look at ways of harnessing water for irrigation.

He implored the business sector to partner the government in agriculture from working on the land up to the time when the produce is taken to the market.

“There’s a counterproductive trend in business that we see, that is that of heavily depending on the government to do all the dirty work along the whole agricultural value chain with business only coming in to mop up the profits,” he said.

“This scenario isn’t sustainable as the government isn’t designed to be a business entity and also because the government has social obligations, which might affect prices. Besides this isn’t in tandem with international best practices for the government to provide an environment that’s conducive for the private sector to make money.”

Chamisa said there was a great potential for good business in agriculture adding that there were various land tenure arrangement available for takers in the private sector

He urged the private sector to complement the government by creating new markets and expanding the existing ones.

Chamisa said using the government land, the private sector can initiate production of particular products to satisfy a certain market.

“Agriculture is the backbone of our economy and there are many opportunities along the value chains in agriculture,” said Chamisa