Zimbabwe: Banks Urged to Fund Tobacco

Source from:  The Herald 02/16/2013

YOUTH Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has challenged the banking sector to fund agriculture, particularly the tobacco sector, to boost the economy. He was officially opening the 2013 tobacco selling season at Boka Tobacco Floors yesterday.

The ceremony was also attended by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa and heads of agricultural institutions.

Minister Kasukuwere said a long time ago, 74 percent of agricultural funding came from the banking sector, but these days farmers were struggling to access support.

Only 17 percent support for agriculture came from the banking sector. If financial institutions provided more packages to farmers, tobacco production would grow dramatically, he said.

Minister Kasukuwere said agriculture was a major employer and contributed to the Gross Domestic Product. Last year 10,7 percent of the GDP came from the tobacco industry.

He was also grateful at the increase in the number of tobacco growers, particularly the small-scale farmers, who constitute 80 percent of the grower base. He attributed this to the land reform programme.

"It is also noteworthy that in this process, more and more youths and women have ventured into tobacco production to empower themselves," he said.

"This indigenisation of tobacco production has been achieved, thanks to the successful land reform programme started by Government in 2002."

Minister Kasukuwere urged the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board to work closely with his ministry to allow the development of farmers' livelihoods through the purchase of shares in the mining sector.

"It is my wish that, as in all other economic sectors, the process of indigenisation and empowerment be taken further along the value addition chain of the tobacco industry and my ministry will always be there to assist in the implementation of this policy," he said.

TIMB chairperson Mrs Monica Chinamasa said tobacco growers faced viability problems due to the increasing cost of production. She was concerned over the two worrisome pricing issues prevalent in 2012. Mrs Chinamasa noted the emergence of a maximum cap or ceiling for auction floor prices of US$4,99 per kg. Enditem