(THE HERALD) Agric stakeholders optimistic
Agric stakeholders optimisticStakeholders expressed optimism on Tuesday for a better 2007/08 farming season but emphasised the need for timely provision of inputs for higher yields. This emerged during a meeting between members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement and Agriculture and players in the agricultural sector on the state of preparedness for the forthcoming season.
Representatives of farmers, seed houses and financial institutions, who attended the meeting were all upbeat about the forthcoming cropping season, but said a successful agricultural season hinged on timely provision of critical inputs such as seed, fertilizer, chemicals, fuel and loans.
Farmers Development Trust executive director Mr Lovegot Tendengu said the future was bright for the tobacco crop as farmers had been allocated land under the agrarian reform programme and manpower was available while training institutions in the country were providing farmers with the capacity to produce.
Mr Tendengu said tobacco farmers were also guaranteed inputs through contracts they signed with companies in the private sector.
He said the massive mechanisation programme currently underway would also boost tobacco production this season, which had a ready market in Asia.
He said markets in the Far East were prepared to absorb all the country’s golden leaf.
Mr Tendengu said tobacco production was targeted to rise to 150 million kg next year, up from 80 million kg produced this year.
He said large-scale farmers would produce 60 million kg from 65 000 hectares with each hectare yielding at least 3kg while the remaining 90 million kg would come from communal farmers who would produce at least 1kg per every 2 000 hectares.
Seed Producers’ Association chairperson Mr Temba Nkatazo assured the nation of adequate maize seed supplies.
He indicated that farmers had so far delivered 29 000 tones of seed maize out of the required 50 000 tonnes for the nation.
He said more than 15 000 tonnes were still on farms as farmers were anticipating a review of the producer price.
Association vice-chairperson Mr Dennis Zaranyika said the major challenge facing the sector was unviable producer prices for seed maize.
Mr Zaranyika said farmers were demanding more than $20 million per tonne to offset production costs, which were relatively higher than those of other cash crops such as soyabeans.
He said failure to increase the producer price of seed maize would result in farmers switching to other crops that had higher returns, a situation he said would result in the country spending large amounts of scarce foreign currency on imports.
Agricultural and Rural Development Authority acting chief executive officer Mr Wycliffe Matsika told the committee that his organisation would plough at least 10 284 hectares this season, adding substantial progress had already been made in preparing the land.
Mr Matsika was optimistic that the authority would meet its target although a lot depended on the availability of fertilizer and fuel.
He also expressed concern at the depleted machinery fleet, which included 484 tractors, 68 ploughs, 65 disc harrows and 26 planters.
Agribank chief executive Mr Sam Malaba told the meeting that his institution had disbursed $392 billion under the Agricultural Sector Productivity Enhancement Facility from January to August this year for tobacco, horticulture and livestock and was still to disburse $40 billion out of the $61,4 billion under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).
Mr Malaba noted that his institution had received an additional $80 billion for the PSIP that it would disburse to large-scale farmers through the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board, as well as $60 billion for disbursement to smallholder farmers under the Maguta/Inala project.
Ministry of Agriculture permanent secretary Mr Ngoni Masoka said there was need to pursue the twin strategy of capacitating the local fertilizer industry as well as import ready-to-use fertilizers since the season was fast approaching.
Secretary for Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Irrigation Dr Shadreck Mlambo urged communal farmers to utilise organic fertilizer such as cattle dung as a substitute for compound D fertilizer. — New Ziana.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
posted by MrK @ 4:24 AM
1 Comments:
Zimbabwe is the one with the plan.
Mr Matsika was optimistic that the authority would meet its target although a lot depended on the availability of fertilizer and fuel.
Farmers can make fertilizer from their own crops, as well as worm castings.
This fertilizer is very effective and absolutely organic.
http://www.vegfamily.com/gardening/veganic-gardening.htm
From the Peninsular Rose Club on organic fertilizer. Excellent page on al kinds of sources of organic fertilizer.
http://www.nurserysite.com/clubs/peninsular/organicfertilizer.html
How to Make a Complete Organic Fertilizer
Written by Travis Saling
http://westsidegardener.com/howto/fertilizer.html
Now if all these tractors would run on biofuel, Zimbabwe would have to import much less oil and save foreign currency that way, while keeping it's expenditure within the country.
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