Farmers upbeat as they prepare for summer cropping season

THE Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) says preparations for the 2024/2025 summer cropping season are already underway, with most farmers hopeful of recovery from losses suffered due to the El Niño-induced drought in the last season.

The El Niño phenomenon resulted in dry weather conditions across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Zimbabwe, and impacted negatively on agricultural yields.

In Zimbabwe, the drought has since been declared a National Disaster, and the Government is providing grain relief packages to affected households countrywide.

However, ZFU executive director Paul Zakariya on Thursday said preparations are ongoing, hence financing will be key for most farmers to rebound from losses of the prior season.

“Preparations for the upcoming season are ongoing and when the rains come, every farmer knows he needs to make sure that he is prepared.

“The extent of one being prepared is also limited to the resources that one has. If you have enough to do 50 acres, you plan your 50 acres; if you have enough or more, you do that, but that is tied to the initial financing,” he said.

Zakariya noted that, while farmers require long-term financing, banks at the moment only have money for the short-term, which covers seed and fertiliser, among other things. He said sometimes the cash is not even enough to cover labour and other key activities.

The Government, in partnership with the private sector, is mobilising US$1,6 billion (ZiG22 billion) to support crop production and ensure food security at both household and national levels.

This is in line with preparations for the 2024/2025 summer cropping season, in which the La Niña phenomenon, normally associated with normal to above-normal rainfall, is expected.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, in the 2024 Mid-Term Budget Review, said the funding will support the production of cereals, oil seeds and pulses, targeting an output of 4,5 million tonnes.

“The private sector is expected to mobilise US$960 million, while the Government will mobilise US$640 million to finance the Presidential Input Scheme, as well as guaranteed agriculture schemes under ARDA (Agricultural and Rural Development Authority), AFC and CBZ facilities,” he said.

Mthuli said the Government, together with development partners, is targeting to support 1,8 million vulnerable households with agricultural inputs for the production of cereals, cotton, oil seeds and pulses, as well as livestock.

A total of 90 000 hectares is earmarked for the irrigated maize crop, with participation by farmers under joint venture schemes managed by ARDA, private sector contract farming and self-financed growers.

But, according to Zakariya, financing that is required in agriculture comes in three different forms.

He said the first one is working capital, which goes for between 12 and 24 months and is really short-term; medium-term financing, which can go for five to 10 years to buy tractors, implements and irrigation equipment; and long-term financing, which caters for infrastructure and anchors production activities.

“You need dams on the farm; open up new fields; irrigation infrastructure; roads; packing and sorting facilities, and all that needs finance.

“All that is funding that goes beyond 15 to 20 years. So, when we are talking about financing agriculture, we are not just talking about seed, but we are talking even about deeper things,” said Zakariya.

Speaking during an event to unpack the 2024/2025 summer cropping plan, approved by the Cabinet about two weeks ago, Zakariya said ensuring that the 2024/2025 agricultural production targets are achieved requires “a comprehensive approach that considers the perspectives and needs of farmers”.

Central to the ZFU’s strategy is the strengthening of extension services to equip farmers with the latest agricultural knowledge and practices.

Zakariya also called for increased access to financing, including low-interest loans and crop insurance to cushion farmers against risks.

Technology adoption was another key pillar, and Zakariya said digital tools can significantly enhance farmers’ decision-making and productivity.

Additionally, the ZFU also called for improved market access, value addition initiatives and supportive Government policies to create a conducive environment for agricultural growth.

The Government is also working on irrigation development and, according to Mthuli, climate-proofing agriculture and ensuring food security at household and national levels is a commitment by the State that ensures all-year-round cropping, irrespective of the rainfall patterns of the season.

He said, through the National Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Programme, the Government seeks to ensure that the country’s irrigation potential is fully exploited through rehabilitation and development in order to meet the national target of increasing functional irrigable land to 496 000 hectares by 2025.

“In support of the above interventions, a total of ZiG19,6 million was expended towards irrigation development during the first six months of the year, with a target to achieve 6 864 hectares by December 2024,” said Mthuli in the Mid-Term Budget Review.

The El Niño-induced drought also continues to impact agro-based industries, at least until the onset of the 2024/2025 farming season, which, according to early predictions, is set to receive good rains.

Diversified agro-concern CFI Holdings says, in the short to medium term, it will prioritise continued investments in business entities and upscaling ongoing cost-containment measures in order to underpin long-term competitiveness.-ebusinessweekly