(ZIMPAPERS) Sugarcane farmers get lifeline

Sugarcane farmers get lifeline
Sunday, 16 October 2011 01:24 Agriculture
By Emilia Zindi recently in Chiredzi

HUNDREDS of sugarcane growers in the Lowveld who were set to lose farms for failing to utilise land productively have been thrown a lifeline after sugar milling company Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe unveiled a US$3,5 million credit facility.

Under the facility, the farmers are expected to receive fertiliser, seed, pesticide, herbicide, fuel and tillage services during the 2011/2012 summer cropping season.
The firm has also pledged to settle their water and electricity bills.

Commercial Sugarcane Farmers’ Association of Zimbabwe chief executive Mr Daniel Tsingo said the initiative would ensure growers rehabilitate farms where the crop is more than 10 years old.

He said the association was upbeat about the scheme whose inputs will be availed before the onset of the rains.

“We are happy and credit will be offset after we sell the crop,” he said.

Under the scheme, the firm will provide tractors, rippers, disc harrows and ridgers for land preparation. Agro-chemicals and labour are also part of the package.

Each farmer will get assistance on 10 hectares over two seasons with the more than 600 farmers in the region expected to rehabilitate a cumulative 12 000 hectares.

Local farmer Mr Patrick Sibanda lauded Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe for introducing the scheme.

“We are more than pleased as we are now able to plant new crops. We could not have done it on our own,’’ he said.

Another beneficiary, Mr Hezekiah Mhunduru, was optimistic most farmers would meet production targets.

“If the crop is fed well, one would produce between 80 and 100 tonnes of raw sugarcane. Eight tonnes of the cane can produce a tonne of sugar,” he said.

“This scheme is different because there is no demand for collateral. All we have to do is pay back through the harvest we will deliver to the company.

“Also important to note is the fact that there is no way input prices can be inflated. Everything is in black and white.’’

Mr Micah Sinaravo of Farm 29 Sub-Division Four said: “I really appreciate this scheme because I do not have the requisite equipment to make for a viable farming venture. This initiative has come at the right time.”

Most farmers in the region were allocated properties under the land reform programme. They, however, failed to fully utilise the farms owing to crippling financial challenges.

The farmers could not rehabilitate flood irrigation systems and plant the crop anew.
This resulted in large portions of land lying idle for years.

Local district lands committees subsequently recommended that the farms be repossessed, a move the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement thwarted.

A good number of farms were a hive of activity when The Sunday Mail visited Chiredzi last week with land preparation in full swing.

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe managing director Mr Sydney Mtsambiwa could not be reached for comment.