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Walter Nyamukondiwa in LION’S DEN
Government has been urged to speed up the dispatch and distribution of inputs under the Command Agriculture programme for the 2017 /18 farming season. This comes amid indications that slow distribution will affect planting timelines for long season varieties. The bulk of farmers in Mashonaland West province are in climatic region II which requires long season varieties, ideally planted in October.

In contributions at a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture and Irrigation Development meeting here yesterday, stakeholders noted a slight delay in the distribution of inputs. The committee is consulting stakeholders for their input into the 2018 national Budget. Stakeholders said Government should expedite the dispatch of inputs to GMB depots for onward distribution to farmers.

“On Command Agriculture, we need timely distribution of inputs,” said Engineer Vimbai Pachawo from the Department of Irrigation Development.
“Already, we are in October and we have not started distributing the inputs. By this time last year we had already started distributing some of the inputs. We are now worried because as Mashonaland West province, we are in region II and we need long season varieties in some areas. These are planted as early as October.” Eng Pachawo said inputs should ideally be distributed to farmers by the end of August. Others said Command Agriculture was a noble programme which should help farmers in setting up irrigation systems.

“There should be a deliberate move by Government that all farmers engaged be capacitated to at least sink boreholes that ensure they can irrigate after about two years,” said Makonde district administration Mr Joseph Manyurapasi. This, he said, could be done in the form of loans that were repaid at agreed timelines. Others said Command Agriculture contracts should specify obligations of each party. This comes as farmers said some costs and obligations were not clear from the onset.

Others said the cost of the inputs should be spelt out as some of the prices were found to be above those obtaining on the market. Contracts, some noted, should be also crafted in vernacular to allow people to understand their obligations before appending their signatures. Committee chairperson Cde Christopher Chitindi said stakeholders were calling for improved efficiency in inputs distribution.

“What we are getting from stakeholder is that inputs should be distributed in time, Agritex officers who implement the programme should be capacitated,” said Cde Chitindi.

“People are saying when the Command Agriculture programme comes to an end, if it does, it should leave farmers with tractors and boreholes.” Another stakeholder, Mrs Betty Biri, said Government should also consider regions within broader climatic regions for special programmes. She said there were some areas in Makonde district that had region five weather patterns, which are generally hot, and needed support in livestock production than crops. Resource distribution should not be uniform by province, but should respond to sub-climatic considerations,” she said.
Mr Golden Nyamukapa noted that illegal settlements and land disputes were threatening the agriculture sector.