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AS the country wraps up the 2016-17 farming season that many in Government believe is a huge success after farmers received massive support under Command Agriculture and the Presidential Inputs Support Scheme, it becomes critical for authorities to disseminate accurate information. When managing such huge projects, proper information management becomes key so that all stakeholders operate at the same wavelength.

Announcing the final Crop Assessment Report for the 2016-17 season in June, the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Dr Joseph Made, revealed that Zimbabwe was expecting to harvest four million tonnes of food crops.

The food crops include maize, sorghum, millet, roundnuts, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cowpeas, squash, sugarbeans and pumpkins. Out of these crops, maize was reported to have reached the 2 155 000 tonnes mark, up from 800 000 tonnes the previous season, indicating a record 321 percent rise.

The implication of this, according to the ministry is that Zimbabwe was on a recovery path that would see it exporting food to countries experiencing food deficit.

As Zimbabwe celebrates this success story, it is fundamentally critical that Government keeps correct and accurate records of the yields recorded annually since such information is critical to all players in the agriculture sector.

It helps in making key strategic plans.

Government mobilised almost $200 million to fund the 2016-17 season from the private sector and already, indications are that Government has already mobilised a record $487 million facility to fund the 2017-18 farming season.

As funding for agriculture increases, the need for more accurate information for all stakeholders becomes even more critical because the business becomes more risky for private companies supporting the sector.

It is against this background that we implore all players in the agricultural sector to ensure that information critical for decision making for supporters of the sector is accurate and is released on time.

Minister Made told this publication yesterday that grain deliveries to Grain Marketing Board depots for the 2016-17 farming season had reached over 800 000 tonnes, enough for the strategic reserves.

We only have three months left for the rainy season to start and it is our hope that farmers will promptly deliver the remaining crop for us to reach the 2 155 000 tonnes as indicated by the final Crop Assessment.

The fertiliser industry needs that information to budget on how many tonnes of the commodity are needed by the farmers each season and previous yields are key to map such projections. The fertiliser industry needs adequate time to import some of the components needed to manufacture the commodity, let alone to enter into funding deals with the banks.

Banks are also in business and they demand to know how the firms and the beneficiaries (farmers) who are the market, performed the previous season. If inaccurate data is supplied to the market on the potential of our farmers, there is a danger that there might be under supply or oversupply of the commodities.

The risk for some of the companies is that they produce commodities that do not have a long shelf life and cannot store them for use in the next farming season.

If more seed, fertiliser, chemicals among other key farming inputs are produced in bulk and are not used that season, they become a huge burden to the companies because they have to incur huge warehouse and transport costs, not to mention write-offs as has been the case with some seed houses.

Accurate information on current and future demands helps companies not to over or under-supply the commodities.

The same also goes to key Government programmes that need external funding.

In the previous years, Zimbabwe has bought strategic grain reserves from other countries like Brazil and Mexico and it is our sincere hope that the same will not happen if there is a proper information management system.

Proper information management will help Government import appropriate and adequate farming equipment for farmers.

If Government fails to supply information because of some workers who are lazy or have a hidden agenda of misleading the people, let due process take its course and have those people smoked out of the system.

Zimbabwe cannot suffer because of some incompetent Government officers or those serving their selfish agendas.