Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Elita Chikwati
13 November 2009
Harare — Grain Marketing Board depots nationwide have run out of inputs procured by the Government under a US$210 million facility, leaving farmers holding onto some vouchers they collected from banks.
Investigations by the Herald this week, revealed that the inputs were stuck in some warehouses in Harare owing to logistical problems as authorities were reportedly failing to mobilise transport to ferry them to GMB depots.
Under the loan facility, the farmers apply at their respective banks and are issued with vouchers after a credit risk analysis by the financial institution.
The farmers then use the vouchers to collect the inputs from specific GMB depots.
However, some GMB depots ran out of inputs such as fertilizers and maize seed a long time back, leaving some farmers stranded.
The farmers are tasked with scouting for GMB depots that still have some inputs before being issued with the vouchers to reduce inconveniences.
GMB public relations manager Mrs Muriel Zemura yesterday said farmers who successfully applied for the loans, were not able to access the inputs as most GMB depots had run out of the commodities.
"The farmers will have to phone around GMB depots before being issued with some vouchers by bank authorities to avoid a situation whereby one gets a voucher and the GMB depot he is supposed to collect the inputs from does not have the fertilizers and seed in stock," she said.
Initially, the farmers were supposed to collect the inputs from their nearest depots to reduce costs, but this is no longer the case.
Some farmers in Mutare were complaining that the process was cumbersome and were not sure if they were going to get the inputs at all.
"I was told my house was not fair enough as collateral and I had to include my farm machinery. I got relieved when I was issued with a voucher, but to my surprise, the inputs are not available at the collection points," a farmer complained.
Other farmers were complaining that they were expected to start repaying the loans in May despite the fact that the distribution was being delayed.
Mr Gilbert Marisau yesterday said the loan application on its own was a complicated phase and now collection was also full of bottlenecks.
"Agricultural matters should be handled by the people with farming knowledge, who know the importance of timing in farming because if we plant late, this will affect our yields and we may fail to repay the loans," Mr Marisau complained.
While some farmers are facing constraints in collecting the inputs, others are still to get the vouchers as the banks are not accepting offer letters and 99-year leases as collateral.
This year, unlike previous years, inputs are available at the market. The Government on the other hand facilitated a US$210m facility for inputs with the donor community also contributing US$70m for fertilizers and seed.
Non governmental organisations are in the process of distributing the inputs to beneficiaries under this scheme.
Recently, the Government urged local seed and fertilizer manufacturing companies to start distributing inputs to GMB depots.
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