ZIMBABWE'S summer cropping season could be under threat as
farmers do not have the money to procure agro-inputs. Already expecting a
disastrous winter season harvest due to poor planning and financial constraints,
Zimbabwe's food security could continue to be dire in the countryside.
Presenting oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on
Agriculture on Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Seed Trade Association (ZSTA) which
represents 12 seed companies said government requires 18 081 tonnes of hybrid
and open pollinated maize seed from the Sadc region to meet the projected annual
consumption for the season.
"Farmers require up to 40 000 tonnes of seed but seed companies currently have
about 22 000 tonnes," said ZSTA chairman Temba Nkatazo. "The country is short of
18 000 tonnes which can be imported from the region."
Government, Nkatazo said, needs to outsource 1 000 tonnes of sorghum seed during
the same season to meet the 3 000-tonne demand for the small grain.
The seed producers blamed low production on government payment delays for seed
procured during aborted agricultural programmes such as the army-coordinated
Operation Maguta. Government, according to the ZSTA, owes seed companies more
than US$10 million.
Nkatazo, managing director for Paanar Seed, said the association was also
planning to revive rural distribution shops that were closed during the 2007
price blitz which paralysed many companies.
"We are trying to revive these rural shops destroyed during price controls
because they accounted for up to 70% of seed sold in rural areas," Nkatazo said.
He attributed subdued demand for imports to cash shortages on the market adding
that local prices for fertiliser are currently pegged below the regional average
of US$2 500 per tonne.
On fertilisers, ZFC marketing executive Amos Vengere told the same committee
that local demand for common fertilisers - Ammonium nitrate and Compound D -
essential for maize production would fall short of the estimated peak demand of
600 000 tonnes due to "funding constraints" by farmers.
He said there were sufficient stocks for the country.
"The industry is currently operating below capacity due to limited working
capital as a result of weak domestic demand," he said.
Meanwhile, Finance minister Tendai Biti told the parliamentary committee on
Budget Finance and Investment promotion that government would use US$73 million
secured by the World Bank and deposited with the Multi Donor Trust Fund to
finance the cropping season.
"Under the Programmatic Multi Donor Trust Fund, coordinated by the World Bank,
US$300 million was mobilised for humanitarian-plus assistance targeting
agriculture, water and sanitation, health, education and social protection" Biti
said.
"US$73,75 million is earmarked for agriculture in the 2009/2010 season. The
health sector is set to benefit to the tune of US$20 million for the procurement
of drugs and equipment for rural health centres."
Water and sanitation sector, Biti said is expected to benefit US$36 million for
the maintenance and rehabilitation of water points and sanitary facilities in
both urban and rural areas.
"The local fertiliser industry has secured a line of credit worth US$30 million
from Afrexim Bank for local production of 170 000 tonnes of the commodity in
support of the summer cropping programme," Biti said.