Zimbabwe: Arda Embarks On Small Grains Programme

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) 13 December 2007 12/14/2007

THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority has embarked on a small grains programme to boost the country's small grains seed bank. Acting board chairman Mr Basil Nyabadza said under the first phase of the programme the parastatal would produce seed for soyabeans, sugar beans, sorghum, groundnuts, upland rice and cowpeas. He said these small grains were a key food source, which could be used to ensure food security at household level. "We need to strike a balance between production of cash crops such as tobacco and cotton and small grains so that we conserve whatever foreign currency we get from the cash crops, rather than spend it on importing maize," he said As part of the new thrust, he said the parastatal had established Arda Seeds, a subsidiary that would spearhead the production of small grain seed. The programme would tap from funds availed for small grains in the 2008 National Budget. Mr Nyabadza said with good rains, the production of small grains was expected to improve this season. He stressed the need to capacitate producers of small grains, particularly women. "These farmers need equipment such as hand-drawn ploughs or scotchcarts," he said. Arda has not physically repossessed its 428 tractors that were looted from its estates saying a number of them were presently being used as the 2007/08 summer season gets into full swing. Mr Nyabadza said the board was cognisant of the fact that some of tractors were being used to prepare for the 2007/08 agriculture season without which they would not meet their targets. "As you are aware we are in the middle of an agricultural season and it does not make sense to repossess the tractors when they are being used to till the land. "Since we have managed to recover all the tractors, we will assume that all of them are on hire and market rates will apply so that we recover value to enable Arda to service its debt. "This is important because Arda has continued to repay the debt for the tractors even though they were not in our possession," he said. Government, as Arda's principal, would determine from which date the rates should apply and how the money would be collected. Mr Nyabadza said now that Arda had a full management complement it was geared to recover all its resources that had been clandestinely removed from its estates. Investigations into the disappearance of the 428 tractors were instigated by the new Arda board after concerns raised by President Mugabe. The tractors had been looted by unscrupulous farmers working in Government and some institutions that illegally got hold of State implements under unclear circum- stances. The 428 tractors are part of a fleet acquired by the Government from Iran late in 2004 in an effort to boost the country's agricultural production and to ensure food self-sufficiency. Some of the culprits were said to be beneficiaries of the Government's agricultural mechanisation programme being bankrolled by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Enditem