Business / Economy
Zim govt crafts comprehensive food security and economic recovery plan
22 Sep 2013 at 04:16hrs | Views
THE Government has come up with a comprehensive food security and economic recovery plan under which all small-holder and communal farmers will receive inputs for the summer cropping season
while the country works to service its $1,4 billion external debt.
In a move aimed at guaranteeing sufficient food, authorities are already mobilising funds for this farming season through the African Development Bank (AfDB) and local financial institutions.
Moves are also on course to mobilise domestic and foreign resources to settle external debts by bonding part of the country's mineral reserves. Zimbabwe owes the AfDB $528 million; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $124 million and the World Bank $926 million.
In an interview last Friday, Finance Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa said each farmer would receive a minimum package of seed and fertiliser while equal priority would be given to boosting irrigation.
Cde Chinamasa, who was speaking after meeting AfDB officials in Harare, said the Government would invest heavily in agriculture to ensure "the country will never go hungry".
"As a Government, we are going to invest heavily in agriculture. We are going to scale up support for farmers, especially the small-holder farmer.
"Every effort is going to be made to rescue our farmers and make sure that this country will never go hungry again."
Minister Chinamasa said consultations were under way on the amount of support that will be provided to farmers.
He said funds would be mobilised from domestic sources in the short-term and from outside the country in the long-term.
"We are still discussing with stakeholders on how much we are going to avail to our farmers, but every effort is going to be made to support the agriculture sector.
"The support to the sector compared to the import bill will be minuscule. To what extent we are going to support our farmers will depend on the availability of the resources. We are, however, certain that resources will be mobilised."
He said the country has enough maize seed and the focus would be on sourcing adequate fertiliser.
"We might be behind time, but every effort is being made to support our farmers and we need to rescue our agriculture and our country from hunger.
"I want people to understand our commitment to agriculture and we are going to give it the support it deserves."
The minister said Government is committed to clearing its external debt to enable the country to access concessionary funding. Under this initiative, authorities intend to use domestic mineral reserves in settling the debts.
Zimbabwe will also continue to negotiate with the IMF and World Bank to unlock more funding, Cde Chinamasa said.
"We are discussing innovative ways to clear those arrears, which will make us eligible to access concessionary loans. At the moment, we are not accessing concessionary funding because of our areas.
"So, we are discussing innovative ways of clearing these areas so as to be eligible for concessionary lending. The idea is to make sure that we can borrow from these institutions using our domestic resources.
"One issue that we discussed is the securitisation of the country's assets so that we can be able to borrow using our untapped or unexplored resources as security.
"Banks (lending institutions) are not robots. We will continue to negotiate with the IMF and the World Bank."
Zimbabwe's agricultural sector has been lagging behind over the past few season on account of limited support from the inclusive Government. Most farmers failed to reap huge yields because of this lack of support as well as recurrent droughts. The nation requires about 1, 8 million tonnes of maize annually.
The staggering external debt also weighed heavily on the country as Zimbabwe was excluded from concessionary funding.
Speaking at the Official Opening of the First Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe last Tuesday, President Mugabe said Government would prioritise support to the agriculture sector to reduce over reliance on food imports and donor support.
The President said measures would be put in place to mitigate the effects of drought.
"In recent years the performance of the agriculture sector has continued to be depressed owing mainly to recurrent droughts, erratic rainfall patterns and a lack of adequate funding.
"This trend, in turn, has weighed down on the performance of the entire economy, given that agriculture is the mainstay of our economy. As part of strategies to mitigate the risks caused by droughts, Government will emphasise increased reliance on irrigation agriculture, and on water harvesting and conservation techniques.
"To alleviate the plight of our farmers who constantly bear the brunt of adverse weather conditions, Government will empower the farmers through the provision of inputs support and marketing incentives.
"We must employ strategies that avert our country from developing an over-reliance on food imports and handouts from donors."
while the country works to service its $1,4 billion external debt.
In a move aimed at guaranteeing sufficient food, authorities are already mobilising funds for this farming season through the African Development Bank (AfDB) and local financial institutions.
Moves are also on course to mobilise domestic and foreign resources to settle external debts by bonding part of the country's mineral reserves. Zimbabwe owes the AfDB $528 million; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $124 million and the World Bank $926 million.
In an interview last Friday, Finance Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa said each farmer would receive a minimum package of seed and fertiliser while equal priority would be given to boosting irrigation.
Cde Chinamasa, who was speaking after meeting AfDB officials in Harare, said the Government would invest heavily in agriculture to ensure "the country will never go hungry".
"As a Government, we are going to invest heavily in agriculture. We are going to scale up support for farmers, especially the small-holder farmer.
"Every effort is going to be made to rescue our farmers and make sure that this country will never go hungry again."
Minister Chinamasa said consultations were under way on the amount of support that will be provided to farmers.
He said funds would be mobilised from domestic sources in the short-term and from outside the country in the long-term.
"We are still discussing with stakeholders on how much we are going to avail to our farmers, but every effort is going to be made to support the agriculture sector.
"The support to the sector compared to the import bill will be minuscule. To what extent we are going to support our farmers will depend on the availability of the resources. We are, however, certain that resources will be mobilised."
He said the country has enough maize seed and the focus would be on sourcing adequate fertiliser.
"We might be behind time, but every effort is being made to support our farmers and we need to rescue our agriculture and our country from hunger.
"I want people to understand our commitment to agriculture and we are going to give it the support it deserves."
Zimbabwe will also continue to negotiate with the IMF and World Bank to unlock more funding, Cde Chinamasa said.
"We are discussing innovative ways to clear those arrears, which will make us eligible to access concessionary loans. At the moment, we are not accessing concessionary funding because of our areas.
"So, we are discussing innovative ways of clearing these areas so as to be eligible for concessionary lending. The idea is to make sure that we can borrow from these institutions using our domestic resources.
"One issue that we discussed is the securitisation of the country's assets so that we can be able to borrow using our untapped or unexplored resources as security.
"Banks (lending institutions) are not robots. We will continue to negotiate with the IMF and the World Bank."
Zimbabwe's agricultural sector has been lagging behind over the past few season on account of limited support from the inclusive Government. Most farmers failed to reap huge yields because of this lack of support as well as recurrent droughts. The nation requires about 1, 8 million tonnes of maize annually.
The staggering external debt also weighed heavily on the country as Zimbabwe was excluded from concessionary funding.
Speaking at the Official Opening of the First Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe last Tuesday, President Mugabe said Government would prioritise support to the agriculture sector to reduce over reliance on food imports and donor support.
The President said measures would be put in place to mitigate the effects of drought.
"In recent years the performance of the agriculture sector has continued to be depressed owing mainly to recurrent droughts, erratic rainfall patterns and a lack of adequate funding.
"This trend, in turn, has weighed down on the performance of the entire economy, given that agriculture is the mainstay of our economy. As part of strategies to mitigate the risks caused by droughts, Government will emphasise increased reliance on irrigation agriculture, and on water harvesting and conservation techniques.
"To alleviate the plight of our farmers who constantly bear the brunt of adverse weather conditions, Government will empower the farmers through the provision of inputs support and marketing incentives.
"We must employ strategies that avert our country from developing an over-reliance on food imports and handouts from donors."
Source - Sunday News
