Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko

Adelaide Moyo Chronicle Reporter
Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko has said Zimbabwe has the potential to regain its bread basket status in Africa if farmers fully utilise land allocated to them. In a speech read on his behalf by the Principal Director in his office, Themba Ndlovu, at Bubi district agricultural show held at Somvubu Secondary School on Friday, VP Mphoko said the government will not allow land to be underutilised as that threatens food security.

“Zimbabwe has potential to regain the status of being the bread basket of Africa if those who were allocated land use the land productively in a commercial manner. Farming is a business and we don’t expect subsistence farming on A2 farms,” VP Mphoko said.

“For agriculture to thrive and sustain the people of Zimbabwe, we need hard working farmers. This is the reason why the war of liberation was fought – for land and self-determination. The land reform program gave land back to the people of Zimbabwe and as government we want to ensure that those who were given land whether on A1 or A2 are using it productively.” VP Mphoko said small scale agriculture is vital to the economy.

He urged farmers to play their role in agricultural production to ensure food security. He noted that the critical role of agriculture in the resuscitation of the country’s economy was emphasised by President Mugabe in his State of Nation Address that also touched on the 10-point plan to revive the economy.

“The first two items on that plan; revitalising agriculture and agro-processing value chain and advancing beneficiation and value addition to our agricultural and mining resource endowment emphasise the importance of agriculture to the livelihood of our people as well as the revitalisation of our economy,” he said.

VP Mphoko challenged government departments linked to agriculture to support farmers to play their role effectively. He said in order to assist both small and large scale farmers, the government had increased extension personnel responsible for livestock production at grassroots level. He encouraged farmers to start working on the next farming season and to seek advice from experts on the type of crops to grow.

“You’ve heard from the Meteorological Services Department that Zimbabwe is going to receive normal to below normal rainfall during the 2015-2016 farming season. It’s very important therefore for you farmers to work very closely with Agritex Officers for you to know how to use the rain that we’ll receive efficiently,” said the VP.

He said the government will continue supporting small scale commercial farmers. Speaking at the same occasion, Chief Mtshane reiterated the need for beneficiaries of the land reform programme to utilise their allocated properties. “I encourage both small scale and large scale farmers to up their production levels so as to deliver our district from poverty. We need to be self-dependent and effectively utilise our resources and be better farmers tomorrow,” Chief Mtshane said.

He encouraged everyone to work towards the success of the agricultural show to turn it into a ‘mini-Bubi trade fair’. The theme for the show was “Agriculture: Creating opportunities.” On exhibition were agricultural produce such as crops, livestock as well as industrial products from local businesses.