Govt moves to revamp agric input distribution system

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

Government is planning to overhaul the agricultural inputs distribution system in a bid to improve efficiency and ensure fertiliser and seed reach their intended beneficiaries, Business Times can report.

The move comes amid growing concern over widespread abuse of the scheme, with reports that some community leaders are short-changing farmers by distributing less than the allocated inputs per household, while illegally selling part of the consignment despite repeated warnings that government inputs are not for sale.

Treasury spends about US$388m each season on the programme, premised on the expectation that vulnerable farmers will be supported to produce enough food for their families.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion permanent secretary George Guvamatanga said authorities would introduce changes to the system to prevent unnecessary fiscal losses.

“I always find that during a summer cropping season, if you open the newspaper, there’s always someone being cited for either swindling or doing something with inputs. It just shows you that there’s a problem which we have to address, which we have to accept. So it actually means that not all of the fertiliser and seed are going to the farmer that it was intended to go to,” Guvamatanga said.

He said government was focused on improving efficiencies to ensure value for money.

“Given the challenges that are there, we will continue to modify and change various things on a daily basis, so that all the farmers who are targeted by the schemes end up being the ones benefiting,” he said.

“It’s only that the beneficiaries are actually not getting it. So the measurement then gets a little bit — you can’t get the correct number to say this is what went into the social benefits schemes and whatever. But in reality, there’s a need for massive improvement in the management of those schemes.”

Guvamatanga argued that as long as the inputs are not taken outside Zimbabwe, they will ultimately be used within the country.

Zimbabwe requires about 2.2 million tonnes of cereal annually, with authorities projecting output of more than 2.5 million tonnes in the 2025/2026 summer cropping season.

“In 2026, we expect a minimum of 2m. This means we will certainly surpass that number, but we are just being too cautious,” he said.

However, analysts have questioned the official projections, arguing that realistic output for the season could be between 1.2 million and 1.5 million tonnes, contending that some of the figures used by authorities do not reflect conditions on the ground.

Responding to the criticism, Guvamatanga said government had previously grappled with conflicting data but had since adopted a “whole-of-government approach” to crop assessment.

“Previously, what used to happen, we also used to have the same argument in government. If that makes you a little bit comfortable, we used to. The Ministry of Agriculture would come up with their numbers, and I would send out the same staff to do the numbers for the budget, and we would always have different figures. It was just not good,” he said.

“So we then agreed that this is a new dispensation. Can the Ministry of Agriculture and Zimstat now work together?”

He said the two institutions now jointly conduct three rounds of crop assessments, the first on planted hectares, the second on crops standing in the fields, and the third after harvesting.

“But now Zimstat and the Ministry of Agriculture work together to actually get those numbers. So those are the numbers that we put up. That crop assessment is actually a public document,” Guvamatanga said.

The report provides a detailed breakdown by province, including hectares planted, output from contracted farmers and production by the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA).

ARDA has emerged as one of the largest contributors to maize and wheat production, as government increasingly positions the authority as a strategic grain producer.

Analysts remain concerned that Zimbabwe has been a net importer of maize for more than two decades following land reform. They argue that, unlike tobacco, maize has received close to US$500m in support, yet yields average about one tonne per hectare, compared to 20–25 tonnes per hectare in South Africa.

Guvamatanga said part of the yield gap was linked to policy choices on genetically modified (GM) seed.

“I think one of the issues is the policy decision that we have taken on genetically modified seeds. And when you talk about the 25 tonnes per hectare in nearby countries, that’s what it’s driven by — that’s GMO, sure,” he said.

“I think it’s another debate that we have to say, okay, what impact should we have. Although, look, if you then import finished products from most of these countries, you still end up with the GMO anyway. We import a lot of stock feed, we import cereals. So that’s one of the reasons, really. It’s because we stick to the pure thing without moving on to the genetically modified.”