Maravi

(HERALD) $25 quadrillion boost for agric

$25 quadrillion boost for agric
From Walter Muchinguri in Bulawayo

GOVERNMENT has — through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe — unveiled a $25 quadrillion loan facility for farmers. RBZ Governor Dr Gono announced the loan facility during this year’s edition of the annual congress for chiefs in Bulawayo yesterday. Chiefs, he said, would benefit from the facility through the Zunde Ramambo Tillage Programme since they were the custodians of food security in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

The central bank will partner the traditional leaders in the distribution of inputs, taking into account that they played a pivotal role in the equitable distribution of inputs, Dr Gono said.

He said RBZ would ensure that honest people access the inputs and loans for accountability. "From now on, you are governors as you will be working with this governor assisting with this micro-credit programme which cannot be spearheaded by this governor alone," he said.

The facility, he said, was in line with the Government’s scheme to boost agricultural production which has already received international acclaim as it tallied with recommendations by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the just-ended Food and Agriculture Organisation summit on food security in Rome, Italy.

The central bank chief urged chiefs to be patient as the inputs might be delayed owing to procurement challenges.

"The sanctions are so pervasive that they have almost destroyed the country, so we need you to stand shoulder to shoulder in condemning the sanctions.

"Let history count you as one who stood against sanctions when the country needed you most," he said.

Apart from the $25 quadrillion facility, Dr Gono said the central bank was in the process of distributing 3 000 grinding mills to chiefs for the benefit of their communities.

In addition, he said, all chiefs and headmen would, within the next two weeks, take delivery of generators to power the grinding mills and their homes.

He also told the chiefs that RBZ would soon be distributing 3 000 head of cattle to rebuild the national herd.

Apart from that, the central bank had just finalised logistics for the importation of a sizeable herd of cattle from several countries in the region that would be distributed to farmers to augment current efforts to rebuild the national herd.

Dr Gono also pointed out that the central bank had started receiving small to medium-scale technologies to empower rural folk.

These included candle, soap and exercise book making machines as well as oil expressing machines.

In addition, he said the central bank was also embarking on a programme to procure lorries that would be used to ferry produce to the market or delivery depots as well as transport inputs back to farmers’ homes.

The governor announced that they had, with immediate effect, decided to withdraw buses allocated to various districts under the Integrated Transport Programme.

The decision to withdraw the buses, he said, follows plans to form a company and committees at district level to oversee the movement of the buses within their respective districts.

Dr Gono also said the RBZ was planning to acquire drilling rigs to ensure water security in every district.

All chiefs were promised at least 200 litres of diesel per month, starting from next month, and tractors.

Dr Gono said out of the 266 chiefs in the country, 251 had already been allocated tractors.

He promised those chiefs who had received tractors only that they would soon be getting the accessories.

Labels: AGRICULTURE, CHIEFS, GIDEON GONO, LAND REFORM, RZB

posted by MrK @ 9:37 PM