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Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
Farmers have implored Government to speed up the distribution of inputs under the Presidential Well-Wishers Input Scheme to avoid late planting that often leads to heavy losses.
Government has targeted to assist 1,6 million households, including cotton growers, with seed and fertilisers during the 2014-15 cropping season.

Most farmers are preparing for the cropping season amid indications of a better season as most of them have received their money from the Grain Marketing Board.

Zimbabwe Farmers Union president Mr Abdul Nyathi said most farmers were carrying out land preparations, while those who had irrigation equipment had planted tobacco and maize.

“Farmers are procuring inputs; seed and fertiliser and this has been made easier by payments from GMB for grain delivered,” he said.

He said inputs suppliers had distributed seed and fertilisers to retail centres closer to farmers.

“Farmers who have cash are accessing seed from nearby retailers while those who have not been paid are still having challenges.

“I am glad farmers have started receiving inputs under the Presidential Well-Wishers Inputs Scheme as these are critical in ensuring food security. Last season farmers achieved high yields as a result of the Presidential inputs,” he said.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa, said the state of preparedness by farmers had improved as a result of early payments by the GMB.

“Some farmers do not have problems as they sold their crop to the GMB at a good price and have cash to buy inputs. By now farmers should have inputs in their storerooms. People distributing the inputs should speed up the process so that farmers are not caught off guard by the rains,” he said.

Mr Chabikwa said farmers who had not been paid were also failing to access funding from banks as they did not have collateral.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister, Dr Joseph Made, recently said this year Government’s inputs scheme included cotton seed and chemicals as this had been a challenge for most farmers.

“Obviously, we will be engaged with farmers to also see what we can do. Russians have undertaken to support us with machinery and equipment as we produce.

“So I am confident that cotton will play a vital role in terms of the relations we are developing with these other countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, equipment sourced from Brazil under the More Food Africa programme has arrived and should assist farmers during the summer cropping season.

The Meteorological Services Department has predicted normal rainfall for most parts of the country.