OFTEN farmers have cited lack of funds and the changing rainfall patterns as major drawbacks in their operations, but one other critical component that at times seems forgotten that drives the agriculture sector is energy.
There are various forms of energy that play a pivotal role on the farms.
Electricity which is used to power various machines is also used for space heating by those doing piggery, poultry and nurseries. Coal is used for firing boilers and for tobacco curing, while diesel and petrol are used to power vehicles and equipment.
For heating and cooking, farmers also use gas, paraffin and wood which is also used for tobacco curing, while acetylene is used for welding.
Despite the various forms of energy available, farmers have faced challenges in accessing adequate energy for use on the farms.
It is against this background that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) organised a Farmers’ Indaba in Harare with the aim of establishing productive and sustainable engagements to keep stakeholders in the agriculture and energy sectors abreast of developments in the energy sector. Chairperson of the Farmers’ Union Joint Presidents Council, Wonder Chabikwa said failure to access adequate energy was hampering production on the farms.
“Often times with energy it is the issue of inadequacy that is the constant load–shedding of electricity by the provider, cost especially with coal, diesel and petrol, lack of and little knowledge on best ways to utilise available energy by the farmers,” he said.
“We experience load-shedding, especially during the wheat planting season where it is critical for a farmer to have electricity and this tends to disrupt production or force farmers to switch to diesel which is also expensive.
“In the past, farmers used to buy fuel at wholesale prices as farming was considered a primary industry, but this is not the case now.”
The high cost of electricity and coal locally, Chabikwa said, affected the competitiveness of farmers on the regional market.
The average price of electricity in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is US5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) while in Zimbabwe it is US14 cents per kWh.
“Our production cost is high and the other pushing factor is the cost of energy,” Chabikwa said.
“Our fellow farmers in Zambia pay US3 cents per kWh while we pay almost four times that hence when we price our maize or wheat we factor in all our expenses.
“Nearly 44 percent of the budget for wheat farmers is for electricity and this has been a major factor that has discouraged farmers from producing the cereal.”
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) commercial director, Engineer Ralph Katsande said the power utility was failing to provide adequate electricity as a result of the money owed by consumers.
“We require approximately US$51 million to repair and replace affected equipment and as of June 2015 the debt by farmers to the power utility stood at US$76 million,” he said.
“It is our hope that if this debt is serviced we will be in a position to provide electricity efficiently.”
The debt, Engineer Katsande said, was negatively impacting on their service delivery.
“As it stands we have a poor credit rating and this makes it difficult to attract financiers or investors to fund or invest in power sector assets in a market where service bills are not being paid,” he said.
“The debt has also resulted in the failure to meet creditors’ obligations as most suppliers are demanding upfront payment for goods and services.”
Engineer Katsande said ZETDC was working with farmers to formulate debt recovery strategies.
“We are engaging farmers to sign up payment plans with some being given up to 12 months to settle debts,” he said.
“We are also encouraging farmers whose produce are marketed on the structured markets that is wheat and tobacco to sign up for the stop order schemes.
“Farmers are also being encouraged to accept the installation of prepaid meters and to date we have installed more than 3 000 prepaid meters on farms.”
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union first vice-president, Berean Mukwende said it was imperative that the power providers and farmers find a way to ensure that the sector got adequate supply.
“As farmers we welcome the payment plans system and the pre-paid meter system for those who default on the payment plan,” he said.
“We are against disconnections and unwarranted load shedding as these disturb production, stress the farmers and are retrogressive.
“For other forms of energy as wood farmers should also play a part in planting the trees to ensure a continued supply.”