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MDC Alliance senator concerned over distribution of livestock without MPs knowledge
04 Oct 2018 at 07:22hrs | Views
MDC Alliance Vice President Elias Mudzuri who is also senator has expressed concerns over the distribution of livestock under the command agriculture programme without the legislators knowing what was happening.
"My question was directed to the Minister of Finance initially but now I am directing another question to the Leader of Government Business on command agriculture. Can we know the Government policy on command agriculture? I understand people are getting livestock and inputs but there is no communication totally to Members of Parliament on how it is done, who is getting what and how Government is distributing these. Is it distributing on partisan basis or to all nationals. That policy needs to be properly announced so that people can go and collect those inputs," he said.
Minister of Justice Ziyambi Ziyambi in response said the simple answer is they have a policy of assisting farmers in terms of capacitating them and ensuring that they produce the national grain that we need in order to avert hunger.
"What we do is we have distribution channels through GMB and in each and every district, we have AREX officers who are mandated to ensure that they communicate with our farmers in their respective areas, and explain the policy of Government and how to access the inputs and this is done across the country and it is non-partisan," he said.
Mudzuri said his question was that he is a farmer and there are several farmers here who have not seen that communication in the rural areas.
"I am a rural farmer and I have gone to GMB, there is no one who has disseminated that information. How is this information delivered to the population in rural areas and in towns because some farmers are in town?" he said.
Ziyambi said the policy of Government is that we have governmental departments in every district and provinces who are supposed to disseminate this information but should the Hon. Member have difficulties in a specific area, you can bring forward the name of the area because we have designated officers who are supposed to do that job.
"Then it can be followed up why they are not disseminating the information as per Government policy," he said.
"My question was directed to the Minister of Finance initially but now I am directing another question to the Leader of Government Business on command agriculture. Can we know the Government policy on command agriculture? I understand people are getting livestock and inputs but there is no communication totally to Members of Parliament on how it is done, who is getting what and how Government is distributing these. Is it distributing on partisan basis or to all nationals. That policy needs to be properly announced so that people can go and collect those inputs," he said.
Minister of Justice Ziyambi Ziyambi in response said the simple answer is they have a policy of assisting farmers in terms of capacitating them and ensuring that they produce the national grain that we need in order to avert hunger.
"What we do is we have distribution channels through GMB and in each and every district, we have AREX officers who are mandated to ensure that they communicate with our farmers in their respective areas, and explain the policy of Government and how to access the inputs and this is done across the country and it is non-partisan," he said.
"I am a rural farmer and I have gone to GMB, there is no one who has disseminated that information. How is this information delivered to the population in rural areas and in towns because some farmers are in town?" he said.
Ziyambi said the policy of Government is that we have governmental departments in every district and provinces who are supposed to disseminate this information but should the Hon. Member have difficulties in a specific area, you can bring forward the name of the area because we have designated officers who are supposed to do that job.
"Then it can be followed up why they are not disseminating the information as per Government policy," he said.
Source - Byo24News
