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| author/source:Financial Gazette (Zimb) |
| published:Thu 18-May-2006 |
| posted on this site:Thu 18-May-2006 |
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| Article Type : News |
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| Army deployed to GMB depots, where they have introduced a parallel recording of grain deliveries |
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Kumbirai Mafunda, Senior Business Reporter
Soldiers man depots countrywide
Government has deployed military personnel to Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots across the country to monitor grain deliveries, as multilateral agencies voiced scepticism over official projections that the country produced 1.8 million tonnes of the staple maize during the last agricultural season. Army and government sources told The Financial Gazette this week that army personnel had been deployed to the state-run GMB depots, where they have introduced a parallel recording of the grain deliveries to that of the GMB and Agricultural Research and Extension Services (AREX) officers. Army insiders said some of their counterparts who are engaged in the countrywide exercise are accommodated at police stations which are close to the GMB depots. They said the army is maintaining its own inventory. "Our personnel are stationed at GMB depots and have their own log books to check on the delivery of grain this year," said the army sources. The insiders also disclosed that the army was taking note of allocations of agricultural inputs such as seed and fertiliser at all GMB depots following reports of abuse and unfair distribution of inputs in the last cropping season. The GMB is currently dispensing inputs to farmers intending to grow wheat this winter under an ambitious exercise to plant 110 hectares and reduce wheat imports.
GMB acting chief executive officer Samuel Muvhuti, himself a retired army colonel, yesterday sought to dismiss reports of the involvement of the army in the operations of the GMB. "We (GMB) are responsible for the movement of grain," said Muvhuti. "The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is also busy doing other functions . . . we enlist the services of transporters," he added. Late last year, the army launched a command agriculture programme dubbed Operation Maguta in a desperate effort to boost agricultural production and avert massive food shortages which have plagued the country since 2000 when veterans of the liberation war and gangs loyal to the ruling Zanu PF seized productive farmland from white commercial farmers. The government-initiated programme, which to all intents and purposes places all agricultural activities under the military involves the cooperation of government agencies such as the Agricultural Rural and Development Authority (ARDA) and AREX which identify underutilised land where soldiers then spearhead maize production. Under the initiative, army officers are tilling fertile agricultural land to boost maize output following poor harvests over the past six years.
Army spokesperson Simon Tsatsa yesterday said: "According to its constitutional obligations, the ZNA is mandated to render military assistance to the civil ministries. These operations are undertaken to assist government ministries in implementing projects that are designed to benefit the community". "As such the GMB, being a public concern, has benefited variously from the ZNA in implementing its outreach projects such as grain and inputs distribution. These operations are not done on a permanent basis but they are only undertaken on request and on need basis," he added. Zimbabwe, once the bread basket of southern Africa, has been forced to rely on food handouts from the international donor community owing to poor harvests mainly caused by the chaotic land grab exercise and a few cycles of drought. Multilateral food agencies have expressed doubts over Agriculture Minister Joseph Made’s claims of a bumper harvest this season. Made, who has previously inflated the country’s grain yields, told a parliamentary portfolio committee on agriculture that Zimbabwe would harvest 1.8 million tonnes from the just ended farming season.
Crop forecasts by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Famine Early Warning System (FEWSNET) have jointly projected Zimbabwe’s crop harvest at between 800 000 and 900 000 tonnes, about half the annual national requirements. This means the country will once again allocate a significant portion of its limited foreign currency to grain imports this year. The Zimbabwe Grain Producers’ Association (ZGPA) has forecast a yield of about 700 000 tonnes, citing the "untimely availability of inputs to farmers." Made’s puzzling disclosures also come at a time when the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC) is yet to carry out its annual crop assessment that involves the participation of multilateral agencies. The multi-stakeholder body, which comprises the World Food Programme (WFP), Southern African Development Community institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), FEWSNET and the government had announced that the survey would get underway this month. Insiders within ZIMVAC disclosed this week that the crop inspection is now at risk as government is yet to endorse the survey. "Let’s talk at the end of May when we get the approval from the government," said an insider who requested anonymity. Government is reportedly on edge over the independent crop assessment since it involves some multilateral organisations, which it barred from inspecting the country’s crop harvest. The government last month blocked the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) from scrutinising the country’s harvest. The FAO-backed survey could have been used as a barometer for Harare’s food aid requirements in the 2006/07 marketing year in which the country is projected to register another disappointing harvest despite receiving above average rains.
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