eBusiness Weekly
Kudzanai Sharara
Zimbabwe has 2,8 million hectares of agricultural land in need of mechanisation resulting in an estimated deficit of more than 30 000 tractors and related implements, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube revealed in his Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP).
The world over, the growth of agricultural production hinges on farmers being able to access optimal mechanisation on their farms, supplied from locally manufactured equipment, as well as the importation of equipment that cannot be manufactured locally.
In his TSP, Minister Ncube said some estimates indicate the need to commit and channel more than 30 percent of the total agriculture requirements towards mechanisation, in order to improve on agricultural production and productivity.
But more than 80 percent of farmers do not have adequate equipment, negatively impacting on tillage, a critical operation in cropping, crop intensity, and farm productivity.
According to the TSP, land reform beneficiary farmers continue to lack access to farming equipment, resulting in perennial capacity challenges to conduct early land preparation, timeous harvesting of produce, and lack of on-farm storage and processing facilities.
In this regard, the TSP targets improved farm mechanisation to enhance overall agricultural productivity, and reduce reliance on draught animals and human labour, which is no longer readily available to the newly resettled farmer as most of the potential workers also turn out to be beneficiaries of land reform.
“Given that the capital intensive nature of farm mechanisation requirements is far beyond the reach of many new farmers, TSP interventions by Government, the private sector, and financial institutions will be put in place,” reads the TSP.
Given the costs involved, provision and expansion of mechanisation will also necessitate support for hiring of tillage and harvesting equipment.
“Access to provision of back-up services, advice and guidance through local agricultural equipment distributors and dealerships, adequately stocked with critical accessories and spare parts, is also necessary,” reads the TSP.
Such initiatives are expected to help match tillage capacity to seeds and fertilisers availed to contracted farmers under Government supported inputs programmes.
Apart from the much needed equipment for tillage, farmers are also failing to harvest their grains timeously due to limited access to harvesting equipment.
“While the national requirement for combine harvesters is estimated at 500, the country has only 95 functioning combine harvesters, with a total of 130 combine harvesters non-functional and in need of repair,” reads the TSP.
Equipment needed for harvesting includes shellers, tractor-drawn combine harvesters and motorised combine harvesters.
The TSP revealed that a lot of useful equipment is lying idle due to lack of finance by farmers to repair or refurbish them, with surveys indicating that the country has more than 3 000 malfunctioning tractors and related implements which can be revived to increase the total area under mechanisation.
Indications are that there are also numerous dryers which can be put back into operation after refurbishment.
In an effort to boost farm mechanisation, the TSP will, thus target supporting farmers with repairs of tillage and harvesting equipment under the 2018 /19 summer cropping season.
A total $10 million has since been made available for the repairs and servicing of mechanised farm implements held by individual farmers. Further, Government targets funding the procurement of an additional 20 combine harvesters, 20 driers and 20 threshers at a cost of $10 million. In addition, the private sector is also complementing Government in the procurement of 20 mobile driers and 12 fixed driers for installation at GMB depots, countrywide.
However, Government does not wish to continue supporting farmers, saying there is now need for farmers to graduate from practices where the greater part of their requirements, for such equipment as tractors, and disc ploughs, is provided for by Government.
“Movement towards a market based supply and demand driven approach would be more efficient and sustainable, and also reducing the greater burden of reliance on the fiscus,” reads the TSP.
Government would, however, still provide and target the necessary incentives, such as extending duty concessions on importation of mechanisation equipment to also include spares.
Zimbabwe’s economy is agro-based and
Government has not been sparing any efforts to ensure that the agriculture sector reclaims its position as the largest foreign currency earner in the country.
