AS the 2015/2016 cropping season begins, it is no different from the previous seasons as it is punctuated by the usual outcry of lack of funds to ensure maximum production.
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) indicated that the rains received in most parts of the country from Sunday marked the beginning of the rain season.
The rains which were received in all three Mashonaland provinces, Manicaland and Midlands are expected to increase by the end of this month.
The MSD has warned that the country is likely to receive normal-to-below-normal rainfall this season.
With the rains upon us and a short season anticipated, efforts continue to be made by stakeholders to ensure the sector produces.
Farmers continue to lament lack of adequate support from stakeholders.
Critics have labelled resettled farmers ‘cry babies’ who are always looking for hand-outs from Government and are not able to sustain themselves.
Those against the Land Reform Programme tend to compare the resettled farmers who have been on the farms for only 15 years to white farmers who only began to make profits after more than 40 years on the land.
White farmers, especially during their early days, received massive support from their government which poured money into their farms.
The then Land Bank, now Agribank, increased loans and gave farmers an initial three-year suspension on all loan repayments.
The white farmers were given loans worth $12 000 per farm per year which is equivalent to US$40 000 today.
But have the resettled farmers come to a point where they should be weaned off from any form of support, be it from Government or the private sector?
At least US$1,7 billion would be needed to fund the 2015/2016 agricultural season with the funds required for both crop and livestock production.
Of the said amount, US$1,3 billion would go towards crop production.
The Government has over the past seasons remained the major supporter of the resettled farmers with programmes such as the Irrigation Development and Rehabilitation Scheme, Farm Mechanisation Programme and Presidential Well Wishers’ Special Agricultural Inputs Scheme.
As has become the norm, more than one million farmers will benefit from the Presidential Agricultural Inputs Support Scheme this season.
Under the programme each household is getting 10kg of seed, 50kg of Compound D and 50kg of Ammonium Nitrate fertilisers
In a bid to adopt strategies that improve and boost food production and to ensure food nutrition security, both at household and national levels, Government also secured US$98, 6 million loan facility from Brazil under the More Food for Africa Programme
Already, under the same programme, Government acquired an array of agricultural equipment and tractors from Brazil for use by smallholder farmers, on a cost recovery basis.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Wonder Chabikwa commended Government for its efforts and continued support rendered to farmers.
“It is a welcome development that Government is putting in place measures to ensure that the coming summer seasons are a success,” he said.
“The Farm Mechanisation Programme will help in the transition by smallholder farmers from using human labour to adopting the use of machinery.
“What we believe to be small-holder farmers are those with 100 hectares and below so we hope these are the ones who will be targeted by this programme.”
Economist Elliot Lumbe said it was too early to talk of not supporting the resettled farmers.
“Farmers cannot go it alone,” he said.
“If we expect them to turn around the fortunes of the sector, they require assistance.
“Government must create a fund to assist farmers, however, it is important that resources are allocated to performing farmers.”
Lumbe encouraged the private sector to chip in and assist producers.
“The issue of food security is a national responsibility hence we cannot expect Government on its own to always bail out farmers,” he said.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development should be at the forefront lobbying for contract schemes and any other form of assistance from the private sector.”
It, however, is slowly becoming the norm that some unscrupulous business people take advantage of the challenges faced by resettled farmers to dupe them of their income.
Last season, a US$2,4 billion scheme was launched by Lasch Enterprises Private Limited and ZANU PF Youth League under the banner, ‘The Joint Venture’ and was said to be targeting a minimum of 800 000 farmers.
An overwhelming response was received as farmers responded to calls to join the scheme, only to be surprised when the season began that the inputs were unavailable.
The managers of the scheme were nowhere to be found to explain the continued delay in the disbursement of the inputs and this irked farmers.
The Joint Venture scheme was sadly one of the various scams that have prejudiced farmers.
During the same season, an organisation, the War Veterans Trust launched a tractor scheme under which farmers paid US$50 and were promised tractors as the membership of the scheme grew.
However, some farmers received nothing from the Trust.
Proper support, and not from criminals masquerading as saviours, is required to achieve the fullest potential of the agricultural sector.