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Govt target improving irrigation systems to ensure food security
15 May 2016 at 07:59hrs | Views
Finance and Economic development minister Patrick Chinamasa has said the government is currently resorting to increasing and improving the
irrigation in the country in an effort to ensure food security in the country.
This come amid recent failed rains which caused crops failure in the country leading to food shortages.
"We have in successive years supported agriculture, especially with respect to the input supply scheme to small scale farmers, who in the main are the producers of the maize," he said. "They contribute immensely to the production figures for maize, so we have been supporting them. The
problem of course in the past and as it is in the present, is that there is minimal irrigation development."
Chinamasa said their focus now, taking advantage of the drought, is that they should enhance the development of irrigation, not only to communal
areas but all over the country.
"There are measures and policies in place which we are implementing to achieve that. We have also Madam Speaker, if the Hon. House will be aware, we undertook as Government to give free inputs to the cotton industry. We started the 2015/16 season but I hear that the drought could have affected what could have been a very good output," he said. "We have promised to do so for the next three successive seasons; that support to the cotton sector by giving free inputs. We have never supported the growing of wheat, not directly by Government. We have on our part, encouraged the banking sector to give that support and I am aware that support is being given."
He said what he can only guarantee is that if those farmers can gain credit from commercial banks, if they grow wheat and he is encouraging them to
grow wheat especially those who have water.
"We can guarantee timeous payment of any wheat output from the winter wheat programme just like we are guaranteeing timeous payment for any maize that is delivered to GMB," he said. "As you know, at the moment we are importing, we are going to give priority of payment to those farmers who deliver their maize to GMB and we want to guarantee that we will make timeous payments."
irrigation in the country in an effort to ensure food security in the country.
This come amid recent failed rains which caused crops failure in the country leading to food shortages.
"We have in successive years supported agriculture, especially with respect to the input supply scheme to small scale farmers, who in the main are the producers of the maize," he said. "They contribute immensely to the production figures for maize, so we have been supporting them. The
problem of course in the past and as it is in the present, is that there is minimal irrigation development."
Chinamasa said their focus now, taking advantage of the drought, is that they should enhance the development of irrigation, not only to communal
areas but all over the country.
"There are measures and policies in place which we are implementing to achieve that. We have also Madam Speaker, if the Hon. House will be aware, we undertook as Government to give free inputs to the cotton industry. We started the 2015/16 season but I hear that the drought could have affected what could have been a very good output," he said. "We have promised to do so for the next three successive seasons; that support to the cotton sector by giving free inputs. We have never supported the growing of wheat, not directly by Government. We have on our part, encouraged the banking sector to give that support and I am aware that support is being given."
He said what he can only guarantee is that if those farmers can gain credit from commercial banks, if they grow wheat and he is encouraging them to
grow wheat especially those who have water.
"We can guarantee timeous payment of any wheat output from the winter wheat programme just like we are guaranteeing timeous payment for any maize that is delivered to GMB," he said. "As you know, at the moment we are importing, we are going to give priority of payment to those farmers who deliver their maize to GMB and we want to guarantee that we will make timeous payments."
Source - Byo24News
