Zim should revive agric ecosystems

03 Mar, 2017 - 00:03 0 Views
Zim should revive agric ecosystems GMB said it does not have agencies for procurement and payment of grain

The ManicaPost

With Zimbabwe set for a bumper harvest in the coming months, concerns are rife amongst market watchers of the country’s unpreparedness in ensuring vibrant agri-business ecosystems are in place to augment the agriculture sector contribution to the overall economy.

The harvesting season is synonymous with profitable business opportunities such as handling of commodities, transportation, storage and marketing of commodities and analysts have called on Government to invest in smooth operationalisation in these sub-sectors which tend to stimulate economic activity in the usually serene agricultural communities.

Zimbabwe once had a beaming agri-business sector comprising functional seed and fertiliser companies which produced various seed varieties, efficient rail and road transport and robust storage and marketing systems thanks to key parastatals like NRZ and GMB but has seen this ecosystem threatened by viability issues arising from economic challenges since the turn of the millennium.

Following years of economic downward spiral on account of illegal economic sanctions imposed on the country in response to a robust agricultural revolution, the agriculture sector has endured years of lacklustre performances which have seen the sector contribution to the economy depressed and most of its agriculture ecosystems left defunct.

Production has been heavily affected as a result of factors such as successive droughts, antiquated machinery and low investment in skills development and scientific research which when all intertwined has stifled growth of the sector.

However, last year Government invested on a strategic grain production scheme meant to secure adequate grain and restrain the country’s annual grain importation bill that was straining the fiscus and these efforts have been complimented by good rains. Agriculture analyst Charles Dhewa, an expert in agricultural markets and director of E-Mkambo, an online agriculture commodities platform says Government should resuscitate key components of agribusiness such as investing in rail and road infrastructure; creating commodity markets for safe storage and sustainable pricing amongst other interventions in order to reap more from the sector.

“There are still numerous gaps for us to create a vibrant agriculture sector in as much as we anticipate good harvest this year. It’s no longer an issue of production alone but segmenting agriculture commodities at various stages of the ecosystem translating that into profits, in other words ensuring a healthy agri-business sector.

“A lot needs to be done. We see Government has done well in investing in Agritex and other various agriculture arms to ensure production is enhanced but it’s high time we shift investment into the other side of agriculture which includes handling, storage and even to simple aggregation of commodities,” he said.

Government invested US$500 million under command agriculture last year which saw 400 000 hectares of maize crop planted and recently the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya in his monetary policy statement revealed that of the 247 facilities with a monetary value of US$1,8 billion approved and registered by the Central Bank, 47 percent of the total loans went towards agriculture.

Much of this investment went directly into the production side through supply of irrigation facilities, mechanised equipment and seed and fertiliser at a time when infrastructure inefficiencies in marketing, transporting and storage of commodities remain albatrosses to an efficient agricultural sector. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) remains the buyer of first choice yet most of its storage silos are in a dilapidated state.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Developments recently stated that of the 12 storage facilities in the country only three were functional with the rest succumbing to years of neglect and lack of maintenance.

The country is further estimated to lose an average of 61 000 tonnes of grain at the GMB yet the figures are believed to be far much worse when considering communal farmers whose grain fails to reach the markets. The Infrastructure gap remains a key challenge in creating strong agri-business linkages such as transporting and storage of various agriculture commodities and communal farmers have been the worst affected as they find it too costly to get their produce to markets owing to long distances and poor road network.

Communal farmers have the capacity to supply more than 50 percent of the country’s grain and other crop requirements but often remain ostracised from the main stream markets.

Mr Godfrey Dzawara Nyarota who is headman for Makaha village in Mutasa district told Business Post that there were serious accessibility issues between markets and the producers of the commodities in the communal areas.

“Most of our grain is destroyed in our barns as we face challenges to transport it to GMB due to cash shortages and the disincentive of late payments. I planted five ha of tobacco last year and it took me weeks to get to the auction floors in Harare. The road is so bad that when it rains we have to wait for days before we are able to transport various produce to the market. We are charged extra for the trucks we hire as they complain of the gullies riddling Watsomba-Nyabadza route which forces us to go to Harare via Mutare,” he said.

Poor road networks across the entire country continue to affect business and this has been compounded by the mounting challenges facing the country’s sole railway operator, NRZ. Analysts further say lack of investment in road infrastructure and other agriculture value chains led to an increase in the ultimate commodity pricing.

Zimbabwe Grain Millers Association President Mr Tafadzwa Musarara said local grain millers felt the brunt of being at the tail-end of the production value chain of the agriculture commodities calling for Government to act on cost build-ups along the entire chain.

“In the absence of an efficient railway system transportation of grain from the farmers through third party dealers (haulage trucks) is very expensive and adds up to the cost build-up of local grain. This also affects our competitiveness,” he said.

He said as of late last year a tonne of maize in the local market was charged at US$390 whilst imported grain from South Africa cost an average of US$ 180.

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