Uncategorized

GMB should decentralise operations

07 Apr, 2017 - 00:04 0 Views
GMB should decentralise operations Dr Joseph Made

The ManicaPost

Samuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
THE Grain Marketing Board should swiftly decentralise its operations and open satellite depots in all bumper grain producing areas to ensure easy collection of all surplus maize and avoid a situation where producers may fail to deliver to distant central depots due to the poor state of the roads.

Agriculture Minister, Dr Joseph Made, last week told The Manica Post that all farmers intending to sell their produce to GMB should be banked as their payments would be processed through banks as is the case with their tobacco counterparts.

“As we prepare for crop harvesting, one very critical issue is that GMB should make sure that satellite depots are opened in all farming communities expecting bumper harvests.

“The list that GMB has presented is not comprehensive. It is not detailed. It doesn’t give a good picture of the extent from which bumper harvest will come from. We want communities to help identify points where satellite depots can be opened.

“As we celebrate the rains and the bumper harvest that came with it, the road infrastructure in all our farming communities was badly damaged and farmers cannot transport their produce to central GMB depots, so it is GMB’s responsibility to locate itself close to those farmers where surplus grain can be found to enhance collection,” explained Dr Made.

Dr Made said the Presidential Inputs Scheme had helped improve harvests in resettlement and communal areas, but a huge chunk of the produce risk being lost in the post-harvesting due to lack of easy access to market.

He said commercial farmers had the necessary acumen, skill, and infrastructure to handle and store surplus produce than their small scale counterparts.

“Here is an opportunity that can be lost if we are not careful and we do not want that to happen. We do not want to lose any grain, but collect all crops that can be offered by farmers. GMB should be in a position to buy all crops, grain, round nuts, ground nuts, coffee etc, offered by farmers,” said Dr Made.

Dr Made said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Finance were working on how farmers would be paid through the banks.

The proposed changes are part of the RBZ’s financial inclusion and aimed at improving liquidity.

RBZ is advocating for a cashless economy where spending should largely be through banks than pockets.

The tobacco sector, which is the major foreign currency earner, has responded to dictates of cashless society practised world over where even rural farmers transact through bank debit cards and ICTs such as cell-phones, and the same is now happening to the cereal sector.

Small-scale farmers have over the years been accustomed to getting cheques or cash, a development that often resulted in most of them falling victims to thieves and impulsive buying.

Zimbabwe Farmers Union director, Mr Paul Zakaria, said farmers would appreciate benefits of financial inclusion and financial literacy with time.

He said farmers had a track record of borrowing from banks.

“The current liquidity crunch also makes it impossible for farmers to access hard cash, so this kind of arrangement makes it easy to have that value transferred into their accounts, and spending can be done using the bank card,” said Mr Zakaria.

Dr Made dispelled fears on the system’s workability, saying there was an agreement already between GMB and RBZ to prioritise payment of farmers.

“The same system has worked so well with tobacco growers. Farmers must open bank accounts and we have agreed with RBZ that just as tobacco growers are paid, priority will be given to farmers who will supply their produce to GMB.

So farmers should not fear anything, we have convinced the Ministry of Finance and RBZ that what these farmers are producing will go towards import substitution and export – saving and generating foreign currency – hence the need for special consideration since these farmers sell and require cash just once throughout the whole year,” said Dr Made.

“Agribank and other financial institutions supporting farmers should be visible in remote areas so that farmers can easily access their money. They should operate at the farmer’s doorstep because that is where money is needed.”

Dr Made said there was huge demand for organically produced commodities like vegetables, fruits, nuts, meat and grain from European countries and China, which the country should take advantage of.

“The demand for organically produced commodities is high in countries such as France, the Netherlands, and China, among others, and we must take advantage of this.

“These people are tired of consuming tasteless food, giving rise to demand for tasty organically produced food we are renowned for as a country.

“Manicaland, for instance, has the best climatic condition for most exportable commodities like fruits, vegetables, macadamia nuts, bananas, coffee, tea, indigenous tubers, Chillies, and I am happy to tell you that of late I have been signing licences to export bananas produced from Honde Valley.

“We must seize this opportunity to get farmers in the export business and generate foreign currency,” said Dr Made.

Dr Made also said plans were underway to establish the Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Authority, which will be responsible for spearheading development of agriculture infrastructure. AMIA will, among other responsibilities, target the utilisation of all water bodies as well as increase the number of water reservoirs across the country.

Share This:

Sponsored Links

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds