CFU calling

Yesterday morning we received the report that Mr Ray van Rensburg had been killed in a similar fashion to Bob. That is he was killed in the night following an attack by unknown persons with a possible panga or axe. Ray lived on a cottage on Fairhill Farm where he assisted Trevor Shaw with his intensive farming operations on the small farm which Trevor has been left with. Our deepest sympathy and condolences go out to Rays family and we certainly hope that these two cowardly attacks on elderly people in Gweru be solved soon to put the community at ease.

Late Bobs wife Jean is still in a nursing home in Gweru and when she is stabilised she will be moved to Bulawayo. The latest attack against her occurred the day after her 80th birthday. Despite these tragedies we are slowly seeing the previously divided farming communities coming together under the banner of the union. The recent farm survey, which was sent out under the banner of all the groups which are now working together has for many been a breath of fresh air, with regard the unity part anyway. You dont have to tell us how fed up farmers are about filling in any sort of form as we do have a lot of experience in that. About 500 Farm Survey forms have been returned, which has been appreciated, but we do need more in order to give a true reflection.

Since the beginning of President Trevor Giffords term of office his main objective has been to bring all the splinter groups together under one roof. In this he has been extremely successful and the results are now starting to pay off.

This week President Gifford has spent time with our Nigerian farmers and is expected back in the country early next week. His questions put to the President at last weeks Investment Conference about compensation and our right to farm in Zimbabwe seem to have struck a cord, with both the press and the powers that be in Zimbabwe as there have been several follow up meetings this week with the Prime Ministers office and JOMIC representatives.

It is a great pity that we have previously been unable to have direct dialogue with the President on matters concerning the plight of our members and the destruction of our industry. Although there are many unanswered questions and theories about this perhaps we could have saved the industry further had we been allowed easier access. No doubt many would merely consider this wishful thinking, but the theories are debatable.

Our constant plea to the powers that be is for a moratorium on the land invasions and farm disruptions and an amnesty on the punitive prosecutions to retain the status quo in order to allow the farmers to get back into production. During this time a comprehensive nonpartisan land audit should be undertaken and a new land policy document should be drafted which has the emphasis on productivity and respect of property rights as was eluded to in the Global Political Agreement.

If the uncertainty, continued disruptions and punitive prosecutions continue there will be no production in the agricultural sector this forthcoming season.

Reports coming back from the many court cases involving our farmers indicate an increased pressure against the magistrates to rush the cases through the courts and there are increasing accusations that the cases are being prejudged based on the February document, entitled Handling Land Cases, written by Chief Magistrate Mandeya, which is described as an alleged subversion of justice.

To this end we have been holding many high-level meetings with the powers that be and in fact even at the time of writing our leadership is still locked in these important meetings. Lets hope something positive comes out of them because Trevors questions to the President really seems to have stirred things up quite a bit. Surprisingly, we are getting more and more support from unexpected quarters.

At such a time it is imperative that our unity is sincere and in fact becomes much stronger united we stand but divided we fall.

In last weeks CFU Calling we mentioned that we had a list of farms that had been offered for lease or partnership. We were criticised by one reader who had some interesting comments and objections about the misuse of the phrase genuine title deeds, which was used in error. Our apologies for this genuine grammatical error but do reserve the right to serve the needs and interests of all our members and not any particular individual group.

We are intensifying our efforts to record all the information on what is still happening on the ground. Our objective is to compile and to keep personal records as updated as possible and from this to build up an accurate global picture of what is really happening out there.

Unless otherwise authorised the information gathered is kept by us in the strictest confidence. Only the global figures are used to keep the press informed, unless particular individuals volunteer and authorise that their personal information may be used. The global figures are also used to impress how critical the situation is on the farms to the powers that be and other interested parties.

As part of our constant lobbying it is essential that information coming in is accurate and that it is constantly updated. We have many cases on our files where a farmer sends in one or two reports and then once the situation stabilises or the case is handed over to the lawyers we hear no more.

In order to keep tabs on all the court appearances by farmers the following information is requested:
Name
Farm
District
Court
Magistrate
Lawyer
Last court date
Remand date
Outcome
Where farmers wish to submit reports on incidents on their farms we have been requested to also provide the Constituency under which the farm falls and the Member of Parliament’s name who represents them in that constituency.

In the case where serious incidents have occurred a formal written statement of events would be of extreme value in pursuing a swift resolution of the problem, as our reports which we submit on your behalf are reviewed as merely being a report from a third person which has no value in law.

Please respond to mashc@cfuzim.org

We thank all of you who continue to keep us thoroughly updated.

Please remember that our doors are always open and that the organisers of this years CFU Congress will need to know numbers for catering purposed on 4th and 5th August 2009. All farmers are invited to attend both the closed and open sessions whether they are paid up members or not.

See you there.

Don’t forget the talk on Sustainable Agriculture on Tuesday 21st July, to be addressed by Jaco Pieterse – one of South Africa’s leading agriculturist and is to be held at Noah’s Park starting at 0900hrs sharp. There is no cover charge but bring your own cool box and chairs – tea will also be served.

Directions:- Go on the Enterprise road for 20 kms, just past a garage on the right is the Umwindsidale Road on the left. Travel for 4.5 kms & Noah’s Park is on the left.

The Minister of Finance announced his mid-year Fiscal Policy Review on Thursday 16th July. Highlights from the review are as follows:-
The budget target was reviewed upwards to US$ 1.39 billion from the previous US$ 1.0 billion. This action is taken mainly on the back of an expected improvement in revenue inflows during the second half of 2009.
Much of the increase in the budget will be geared towards improving civil servant salaries and making provision for an annual bonus for them. Instead of using a flat rate, increases will be based on the grade of each employee.
The Zimbabwe dollar to be completely demonetized and outstanding balances in local currency are to be converted at exchange rates yet to be determined.
All taxes and allowances previously quoted in local currency henceforth to be denominated in foreign currency.
The customs duty suspension on basic foods and necessities has been extended to 31st December, 2009.
Customs duties on raw materials, intermediate goods, and capital goods have been reduced, with the last category reduced to zero. Duties on some finished goods, such as milk powder, that can be used as raw materials have also been reduced.
Duties on newspapers, computers, printers, and telephone handsets have been cancelled.
Duties on public transport vehicles reduced.
Excise duty on diesel reduced from 20 cents per litre to 16 cents per litre.
Excise duty on tobacco products increased from 60% to 80%.
Changes made to VAT accounting and payment requirements.
Toll fees on national roads to be introduced.
The Minister alluded to the fact that political reforms had not progressed in line with economic developments, and because of the strong interlinks between these two facets the resuscitation of the economy has not proceeded at the desired pace. Despite this he made the claim that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow this year by 3.7%. The prediction is based on the effect on GDP of a 24.3% growth in agricultural output, which in turn is mainly calculated on a 115% increase in maize output to 1.2 million tonnes. It is apparent that major decreases in tobacco, cotton, and wheat output this year which would offset any benefit from the maize production increase (if the figure is to be believed) were ignored in deriving the figures announced. When this is taken together with the static or poor performance of the other economic sectors growth in GDP, if any, will be minimal. He emphasized the need to bring the land reform process to a satisfactory conclusion which is positive. Investment security is a vital ingredient to attracting foreign capital and promoting the investment levels required to achieve high rates of growth.

COMMODITY UPDATE

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DAIRY FARMERS (from the desk of Rob Van Vuuren)

The National AGM was held at Troutbeck on the 13th, 14th and 15th July. This AGM was combined with other Commodities and was called the Commodities Forum 2009. This meeting was well represented by small scale farmers, commercial farmers and processors and suppliers to the industries. On Monday afternoon there were several technical presentations including soya bean diseases, soil science, tick control and cattle fertility. These talks benefited everyone who attended them. The AGM meeting on Tuesday was well supported and a variety of speakers gave very interesting presentations and enlightenment on the current situation and economy in Zimbabwe. Mr Lighton Dube of the E.U. addressed everyone present at the Dinner Dance on Wednesday night and launched the Stabex 95 project whereby NADF is currently running two of these projects, namely the Vaccine Programme and the Marketing Support Programme. This gave everyone a good insight as to assistance that is being rendered to farmers. These meetings and addresses were combined with a wide range of sporting and social events and much fun and laughter was had by everyone attending.

This week the NADF Stabex team is visiting Gokwe and Umzingwane, we will update and report on these visits next week.

Should you have experienced stock theft, please contact livestock@cfuzim.org to obtain a report form as we will be working closely with the Business Against Stock Theft Forum.

Black White, Red Dane and/or Brown Swiss dairy bulls are wanted for a project in the Mtoko area. If you are able to assist, please contact Jerome on 0913 244 946 or 0912 526 418

CATTLE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

The Zimbabwe Herd Book cordially invites all interested parties to the ZHB 41st national Bull and Heifer Sale. This is scheduled for Monday 27th July at 10.00a.m. with registration from 08.00 to 10.00 am. This will be held at the Mount Hampden Sale Pens and viewing is on Saturday 25th July from 2.00p.m. onwards.

CROPS (from the desk of Dr Clive Levy)

Commodities Forum and AGM

This week saw the joint Commodities Forum and the A.G.M.s of the ZCPA, NADF and CPA being held up at Troutbeck Inn, which I think, were enjoyed by most participants. The Forum was very well-sponsored (thanks, to the effort by the NADF staff) and thus allowed industry delegates to interact with the farmers present.

Various 20-minute talks were given on Monday afternoon (more technical) and Tuesday morning (of general interest) in open sessions. Although these talks were complementary, the following were of more relevance to crop farmers: Important Soyabean Diseases in Zimbabwe; Soil Science in Relation to Fertilizer Requirements, current agricultural marketing trends by CropLink; an update on SACAU (Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions); costs of production at ART Farm, and an economic overview and analysis by Tetrad.

Delegates enjoyed golf, tennis, shooting, fishing, and bowls competitions on Tuesday afternoon and won prizes generously donated by the many sponsors. A sponsored luncheon, cheese-and-wine, and a dinner-dance/prize-giving allowed further interaction and festivity.

The 7th A.G.M. of the ZCPA was attended by 14 people (a far cry from the old days when several hundred farmers attended the crop commodity meetings!). The Chairman, Colin Cloete, in his report noted that although we had an almost ideal past summer for crop production, few farmers could take benefit from it because of the ongoing disruptions on farms, and repeated summons to court. This had also led to a decline in membership, which was resource base to the Association. The Association had lost its independence and now had been absorbed into the CFU structure. It currently did not have funds to conduct local research, but probable collaborative studies with the USDA in the coming year may help to reverse this situation. The European Union Stabex 95 Fertilizer programme, the difficulties experienced and its logistical failings were highlighted and discussed. The continued existence (and hopefully, revival) of the Association had been agreed upon at previous Management Committee meetings, but was also the consensus of this meeting. Concerns on the perceived poor maize varietal performance, ZESA, and recent ZINWA gazetted water charges were discussed.

Colin was re-elected as Chairman in the coming year, with Angus Guthrie as his Vice-Chairman. It was reported that there had been interest in the Managers position and several interviews had taken place. Hopefully, this position will be filled in the near future.
Trading Prices

Local 16 July 2009 (US$)

South African Foreign Exchange (SAFEX) 17 July 2009

Source: South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS).

COMMENTS AND VIEWS
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