Patience Maturure, Agriculture Reporter
ESTABLISHING a vibrant market for agricultural commodities is the best way to empower farmers, as this allows them to sell their produce freely and profitably to eradicate perennial dependence on input support from the fiscus.
Agricultural markets analyst and Knowledge Transfer Africa chief executive officer, Dr Charles Dhewa, has said farmers were producing more than 130 commodity varieties, but were struggling to find enough buyers, resulting in lost opportunities and financial distress.
“Farmers looking for a market right now, it’s a clarion call, we need to convert all those commodities into manufactured products and for us to do that, it requires a very strong market focus.
“Markets are very important without any doubt, otherwise farmers are going to continue hamstringing the fiscus, expecting inputs when they could easily buy their inputs after selling commodities,” he said.
Dr Dhewa said to address this, it was important for policymakers to adopt a strong market focus, to enable the conversion of agricultural commodities into manufactured products that drive the creation of new jobs and stimulate economic growth.
“Farmers are stuck with small grains waiting for the markets, so as a nation, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should buy these commodities in (farming) communities (across the country) and put them in warehouses.
“That way we create jobs, if we start sorting the commodities, converting some of them into validated products, that’s what’s needed now,” he said.
Dr Dhewa added that by establishing a robust market system, farmers would be empowered to sell their produce freely, breaking their dependence on the Government or contracted input suppliers, which would unlock their full potential.
“Farmers are producing, they are working very hard, but they are stuck with commodities because demand is slightly suppressed due to low buying power and limited cash in circulation.
“These are effects that we need to confront as a country to move forward,” he said.
Dr Dhewa added that such an arrangement would be a significant step towards boosting the agricultural sector and driving economic development in Zimbabwe.
Source: The Herald
Source: The Herald
