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Mutasa assures nation of enough food reserves
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
September 12, 2005

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=46824&pubdate=2005-09-12

ZIMBABWE has enough food reserves to feed the whole nation and no one will starve as the Government continues to import more maize from South Africa and other countries to boost grain reserves, the National Taskforce on Grain said yesterday.

The Chairman of the National Taskforce on Grain, Cde Didymus Mutasa and the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Joseph Made, who is also a member of the same Taskforce, said allegations that the country was now left with only three weeks of maize were baseless as the Government continued to import more maize from South Africa to feed the people.

Their comments come in the wake of reports by the Secretary for Agriculture, Mr Simon Pazvakavambwa, who said the country was now left with three weeks of food.

He said this last week while addressing delegates at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries annual congress in Nyanga.

Cde Mutasa, who is also the Minister of National Security, Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, said the country was importing about 15 000 tonnes a week from South Africa. This, in addition to some grain coming from other countries and the local market, was enough to feed the nation at any given time.

"What the Secretary said is completely untrue and unfounded. I wonder what was his motivation to say such words, which are completely baseless.

"We are importing an average of 15 000 tonnes of maize from South Africa and if we add what we get from the local market and other countries, then we will be having enough food to feed the nation at any time.

"What is surprising is that Mr Pazvakavambwa is a member of my committee by virtue of being the Secretary for Agriculture and he should know better on such issues. I did not expect such a comment from a senior person like him. After all, I am the Chairman and I am the one who is supposed to comment on matters of grain," he said.

Apart from Cde Mutasa and Dr Made other members of the taskforce are Minister of Finance, Dr Herbert Murerwa, Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, Dr Ignatius Chombo and the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Cde Nicholas Goche.

Dr Made said it was disturbing to note that some Government officials were not complementing Government efforts to feed the nation.

"As the Minister I am very disappointed because of these comments. I am actually surprised because the Secretary oversees the day to day running of the Ministry and he knows what we are doing to ensure that the country has adequate food.

"There are people who are spending sleepless nights trying to make sure that the people of this country are well-fed while there are some people who do not want to complement such efforts. It is quite disturbing," he said

Dr Made said he was also surprised to note that the secretary tried to brush aside the involvement of the Reserve Bank in the development of agriculture in the country.

"I do not understand what someone will be trying to put across if he says the Reserve Bank must not be involved in Agriculture. The central bank is a development bank and as Government we are happy with its contribution to agriculture."

He said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gideon Gono, in his monetary policy, availed funds for the support of the agricultural sector since it is the backbone of the economy.

"The fact that he availed some funds for agriculture indicates that he realised the importance of the sector in the turnaround programme. We are very grateful for this funding and we will continue to work with the central bank in improving the sector."

On the procurement of agricultural inputs for the coming season, Dr Made said Government had already put in place measures to ensure that the inputs would be available soon.

"Farmers must now be prepared to buy their inputs. We have already made efforts to acquire them and very soon the Ministry of Industry and International Trade will be announcing the prices."

He, however, encouraged farmers to make use of the seed maize in their farms and stop reselling the inputs.

"We are going to work with the Provincial Governors and members of Agricultural Research and Extension Services to ensure that all the farmers who are going to receive seed will use it productively," said Dr Made.

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