The Government should subsidise agricultural inputs at the point of sale to reward genuine farmers as well as encourage production, an expert said last week. The Government provides subsidised agricultural inputs to targeted farmers, a system open to abuse as some unscrupulous individuals sell the commodities on the black market. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’

Union vice president Ms Maideyi Maswi said many productive farmers were not accessing subsidised inputs because of the current system where targeted groups were benefiting.

“Some farmers get special tariffs from the Zesa Holdings for growing wheat which they would not even be producing,” she said.
Ms Maswi suggested that subsidies should be provided to farmers who delivered their crops to the Grain Marketing Board as an incentive to produce.
“This also promotes a culture of hardworking,” she added.
Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union operations manager Mrs Theresa Makomva concurred with Ms Maswi but said Government should subsidise manufacturing companies to produce cheap inputs which every farmer could access.

“Subsidies should be at manufacturing level to make sure that every farmer gets inputs at low cost compared to the current system where subsidised inputs are only available at GMB and to selected individuals,” she said.

“The inputs should be already subsidised when they leave the manufacturing firms and sold at affordable prices countrywide and to all.”
Agricultural and Rural Development Authority chairman Mr Basil Nyabadza, who is also a renowned farmer, concurred with Ms Maswi saying subsidising inputs to those who deliver to the GMB would  disadvantage communal farmers who grow crops mainly for consumption.

“What we need to do is to improve on the marketing of agricultural produce especially cereals,” he  said.
Tobacco and cotton are doing better mainly due to the orderly marketing of the two crops and that is what we should do with maize and other crops,” he said. — New Ziana.