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(TALKZIMBABWE) EU gives Zim US$13m for smallholder farmers

EU gives Zim US$13m for smallholder farmers
By: Reuters/TZG
Posted: Sunday, March 7, 2010 10:29 pm

THE European Union on Thursday announced a $13-million fund to help thousands of Zimbabwean smallholder farmers, in a bid to revive the Southern African country's agriculture sector after years of decline. Zimbabwe has suffered persistent food shortages since 2001, when sanctions were imposed on the country by the EU and USA over a bilateral dispute with Britain.

The EU's food security coordinator in Zimbabwe, Pierre-Luc Vanhaeverbeke, told a news conference that 80 000 households would benefit from the $13-million donation through training and farming inputs such as seed and fertiliser.

"We strongly feel that the stabilisation and eventual resuscitation of agriculture is crucial to the overall economic development of Zimbabwe," Vanhaeverbeke said.

"This project is part of the EU's initiative to see Zimbabwe moving from food aid to food security."

The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) will coordinate the EU agricultural facility, as the bloc continues to shun direct cooperation with the government under sanctions imposed in 2002 over electoral fraud and rights abuses.

President Mugabe accuses the West of undermining his rule as punishment for his land reforms which sought to redistribute 90 percent of the arable land which was owned by white commercial farmers.

Smallholder farmers have traditionally produced about 80% of Zimbabwe's staple maize, but a combination of seed and fertiliser shortages and limited access to funding have seen a sharp decline in output.

Maize shortfall

Zimbabwe, which requires at least 1,8-million tonnes of the staple grain annually, produced 1,2-million tonnes in the 2008/9 season.

The government -- which initially projected a 2,5-million tonne yield this year -- and farmers' unions have warned of a dip in output in the current season due to a lengthy mid-season dry spell.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made last week called for the immediate importation of 500 000 tonnes of maize as a strategic grain reserve. - Reuters

Labels: EU, MAIZE, NEW FARMERS, PIERRE-LUC VANHAEVERBEKE

posted by MrK @ 10:02 AM