MUTARE - Farmers who were resettled under Zanu (PF)s chaotic land grab have blasted the former government for failing to come with a clear policy on land ownership to improve food security in the country.“We cannot produce enough for the country when there no security for us on land. Our land is dead collateral because we cannot access loans and credits from bank, said a farmer from Nyanga.
Another farmer from Vumba, only identified as Zinhara, said farming in the country was still in the intensive care unit as it is reeling under a number of challenges such as lack of capital and obsolete infrastructure.
He told Biti that farming had been stagnant over the past 10 years and he appealed to the government to address the issue of land tenure.
Zanu (PF) has been lobbying for 99 year leases for new farmers in the new constitution while MDC has been arguing that the land exercise has not produced a perfect outcome.
Minister Tendai Biti said farming was a business which the country should take seriously in order to revive its fragile and ailing economy, adding that ‘gone are the days for manna from heaven’.
He assured farmers that his ministry would continue to support farmers to revive the agricultural sector.
Post published in: News