The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Resettlement has pledged to push for more government support towards the Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (Agritex) ahead of the next cropping season (2025-2026) following recent revelations of staff shortages and incapacitation of officers.
This comes ahead of the imminent 2024/2025 cropping season when the government is at the advanced stage of implementing the countrywide conservation farming programme, spearheaded by agritex officers across the country’s 1,500 rural wards.
The portfolio committee chairperson, Felix Maburutse, said his oversight committee would push the government to improve the number of agritex officers deployed across Zimbabwe.
“We will definitely push for that: to improve on the numbers (of Agritex officers),” said Maburutse.
“But as far as I am concerned, as far as I know, we have plenty of Agritex officers all over. Maybe it’s about deployment. We will keep our eyes on it.”
Maburutse said his committee will also push the executive arm of the government to ensure Agritex officers who are at the centre of farming activities in rural areas are better supported to execute their duties.
“I believe every agritex officer has a motorbike and we will be pushing the Ministry (of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Resettlement) to ensure they are always mobile,” he said.
“As you understand our duty is oversight, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
Agritex national director Stancilae Tapererwa has said efforts were being made to capacitate agriculture extension officers with motorcycles, fuel, and tablets for data collection.
But the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri appeared not convinced that the country has a shortage of agritex officers.
“It depends on the number of farmers serviced by the officer,” he argued, adding the issue of capacitation of agritex workers falls under their employer – the Public Service Commission.
Investigations byCITElast month established the country has a shortage of agritex officers in some remote districts. For example, a district like Binga, which has 25 wards, only has 50 agritex officers, which is two-thirds of the minimum required number.
Source: CITE
Source: CITE
