Govt owes farmers US$25 million

Harare (New Ziana) – The government said on Monday it owed farmers US$25 million and ZW$61 billion for summer crop deliveries.

The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka said government was working full throttle to ensure farmers were paid their dues expeditiously.

“We owe farmers ZWL$61 billion and US$25 million for summer crops and for wheat delivery. Government is doing everything in its power to ensure that farmers are paid expeditiously, especially in view of fact that the rains are almost upon us,” he said.

He said an announcement on the matter was expected soon after he engaged the Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube.

Masuka said government was considering putting in place ‘a crop purchase buffer fund’ capitalised to the tune of US$50 million, which would reside at the Agriculture Finance Corporation (AFC).

“Should there be a situation such as this, AFC will intervene by purchasing the crop and getting a warehouse receipt for the crop delivered at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) so that will act as a cashflow smoothening intervention that will allow farmers to be paid timeously,” he said.

New Ziana