The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
LANDS, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka last week warned farmers against turning prime land into gum tree plantations, saying the practice posed a serious threat to national food security.
Dr Masuka made the remarks during his tour of Kelvin Farm, part of which is being leased by youthful farmer, Mr Booker Chinamasa.
The minister noticed that the farm owner and former Ministry of Mines and Mining Development permanent secretary, Dr Francis Gudyanga, had converted nearly 150 hectares of prime land into a gum plantation.
The portion carrying the gum trees had tobacco last season.
The plantation was established about three months ago, and the gum trees will be harvested after five years.
This militates against Government’s thrust to improve productivity on all prime land in the province.
The Manica Post Business understands that the majority of ‘lazy farmers’ in the province established gum tree plantations sometime last year after Government threatened to repossess all non-productive farms.
The majority of the gum tree plantations are being established under the auspices of Sustainable Afforestation Association (SAA), which focuses on the establishment and management of fuel wood plantations.
According to its website, SAA injects over US$3 million annually into farming and rural communities.
However, Dr Masuka is not impressed by the conversion of prime land into gum tree plantations as this is threatening the production of food crops desperately needed in the country.
“Who is planting these gum trees? Why are they planting gum trees on such prime land? All farmers who have converted prime land into plantations must be identified because they are doing so at the expense of beneficial agricultural crops, and we discourage such practices,” said Dr Masuka.
“Farmers need to produce more so that we can fill our strategic reserves and reduce the import bill. We should not import what we can produce,” said Dr Masuka.
Dr Masuka also toured Granite Farm which is owned by Mr Francis Nyabadza.
Mr Nyabadza has 45ha of tussling maize, 10ha of sugar beans, a hectare of potatoes, 250 beef cattle, 23 dairy cows and 46 goats.
The minister was satisfied with the crop situation in most parts of the province, and pledged to assist successful farmers to access irrigation equipment.
Dr Masuka also said Government will import 3 000 tractors as part of its initiative to mechanise the operations of competent farmers.
The tractors will be accessible to farmers through a leasing agreement with the AFC Leasing Company.
It is estimated that the country has 6 000 tractors, of which 4 000 are down.
Dr Masuka, who was on a crop situation tour of the province, advised farmers who are yet to plant to go for the short-season varieties.
“What you must know is that the rainfall pattern has changed, so you must be able to adapt to the new seasons and plant short-season varieties,” said Dr Masuka.
The province is confident of reaching the targeted hectarage before the end of the season.
Dr Masuka acknowledged this season’s low take up of the CBZ Agro-Yield Programme, famously known as the Command Agriculture programme, as farmers struggled to fulfill the conditions imposed by the bank.
Under the new conditions, farmers are required to submit either Government-signed joint ventures (JVs), permits or 99-year-leases.
The uptake also dwindled this season as defaulters were dropped after failing to service about 80 percent of the loans advanced to them last season.
AFC Bank, formerly Agribank, has also come on board to contract farmers to grow maize, but those blacklisted by CBZ over non-payment of loans were not considered as the two banks’ operations were synchronised.
