The Sunday News
Business Editor
THE Government will this year enforce the one-man-one farm policy and enforce maximum farm sizes per region as it moves to ensure efficiency in agriculture to end years of food insufficiency.
Speaking at the Ministry’s strategic planning workshop in Bulawayo on Wednesday, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Perrance Shiri said the issue of multiple farm ownership and huge sizes needed to be dealt with urgently to ensure that land is fully utilised for the benefit of the country.
Land disputes, he said, also need to be dealt with timeously to ensure that farmers concentrate on production.
“The country’s land dispute resolution mechanism needs to be clear to all stakeholders and religiously followed. The Land Commission should adhere to timelines stipulated in the Act for dispute resolutions for society to have confidence in the whole system.
“Farmers are investors who only invest where probability of getting positive returns are high and security is guaranteed. I wish also to state here that the Ministry will enforce maximum farm sizes per region and one-man-one-farm policy,” he said.
Minister Shiri said it was worrying that Zimbabwe, besides being the country with most dams in the region, was still importing food.
The missing link, he added, has to be identified and dealt with urgently so that the country can reclaim its position as a major food producer.
Staff in the ministry who are throwing spanners in the growth of the sector will be fired, he warned.
“It is no longer business as usual. The culture of taking ages to attend to pertinent issues will not be accepted. Pursuant to that, the future of uncommitted staff that perform below expectation in this Ministry is uncertain,” he said.
In the coming five years, Zimbabwe must build capacity for farmers to improve productivity, he said.
“As a Ministry, we need to build the capacity of our farmers to be resilient to climate change shocks and stresses such as drought, floods, crop and livestock diseases, among others. The development of 200 hectares of irrigation schemes per district per year, development of other new irrigation schemes and rehabilitation of non-functional irrigation schemes will mitigate against incidences of drought. I expect intensification of this work in the next five years.”
He said the problem of lack of mobility among extension workers can be addressed by adapting latest communication methods.
“Our extension officers are facing numerous challenges that include transport, accommodation and communication, among others. I would like the meeting to come up with practical and innovative ways of addressing some of these challenges during the next five years. These include adoption of information communication technology extension systems and partnering with private sector in extension, among others.”
