FARMERS not using their farms fully risk having them
repossessed or reduced to sizes they can use productively, so agricultural
production can rise and play a pivotal role in the attainment of an upper
middle income economy by 2030.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, during a tour of a
winter maize crop at Farm 40 in Middle Sabi, yesterday said all farm land must
be used fully or reassigned.
He commended farmers who had come on board to increase
productivity, which he said was the key to economic development.
“Government will not go back on the initiative to downsize
unproductive farms as this will promote production,” he said.
Recently, President Mnangagwa said the “use-it-or-lose-it”
principle initially announced for the mining sector would also be applied in
the agriculture sector where vast tracts of land were idle.
He was addressing a meeting of provincial ministers when he
stressed the need for land to be used for maximum productivity to boost food
security and production of raw materials and so revitalise the economy.
VP Chiwenga urged all farmers to play a part in the
development of the country’s agriculture sector where a lot of land was still
being underused.
On the summer cropping season, VP Chiwenga said inputs for
the summer cropping seasons should be made available by September 1 to enable
farmers to plant as early as possible and motivate others to prepare land for
the Pfumvudza programme.
Targets for the winter maize programme have been revised to
8 000 hectares following overwhelming interest shown by farmers, VP Chiwenga
said. This is despite many challenges related to capacity use and the need for
upgrading technical skills.
Government had initially set a target of 4 000ha for winter
maize, which was then revised to 5 500ha following high interest by farmers and
corporates. An additional 2 500ha were committed by farmers in Middle Sabi
yesterday to shore up the area expected to be under maize.
“The reason why we embarked on winter maize is to augment
the summer crop to boost grain reserves and meet our national requirements.
Most of our GMB depots are currently under stocked, because crop production was
very low in the past season, due to drought.
“We therefore need to supplement production of the grain to
reduce importation. The winter maize programme is taking advantage of our
climate especially that experienced in the Lowveld” he said.
He said other farmers had not managed to join the programme
because their land was still committed to cotton, wheat and sugar beans.
About 280ha have been put under winter maize in Middle Sabi
alone, with 126ha being produced in partnership with an investor, Makata
Bananas at Farm 40.
Middle Sabi farmers’ chairperson Mr Skhumbuzo Tondhlana
said farmers were raring to go and would kick-start planting of the additional
2500ha once inputs are availed.
“We are hopeful that in the next few days we will receive
fuel to make sure that we plant on time. We have not started registering for
the summer crop but we will be mobilising our farmers soon for that,” he said.
Minister of State for Manicaland Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba said
the province was prepared to make a meaningful contribution to the production
of cereals in the country.
She said the province was targeting 20 000ha for the
command maize programme and 200 000 ha for other programmes like the
Presidential Input Scheme and Pfumvudza in the summer season. About 103 000
farmers have so far been trained and registered under the Pfumvudza concept.
Dr Gwaradzimba commended partnerships being formed between
farmers and investors which she said would increase production.
“People were given land, but some have not been using it.
We need to educate our people so that they know that it is important to use all
available land to increase food security,” she said.
She highlighted the need to refurbish irrigation equipment,
which is important to improve production.
Farmers in Middle Sabi have been facing challenges in
accessing fuel, which is affecting the winter maize programme.
Minister of Energy and Power Development Fortune Chasi said
fuel would be delivered to farmers as soon as possible to ensure they were not
disturbed.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube
said the attainment of Vision 2030 could only be achieved if the country was
food secure. He said Treasury would ensure that funds were available on time
for inputs to get to the farmers early. Herald
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