RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya yesterday blasted local farmers for their dependence on inputs from the government and urged them to be self-reliant.
BY KENNETH NYANGANI Mangudya made the remarks while officiating at the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union 75th annual congress in Mutare.
“They [farmers] should move away from culture of getting freebies from government. It puts much pressure on government. We have so much pressure. There are some people [farmers] who are relaxing waiting for government to assist them,” he said.
“I grew up in Chimanimani, but we never got something for free, let’s put our house in order as farmers, I am here because farming forms the backbone of our economy,” he said.
Government has been providing inputs to the new resettled farmers, who are known to be aligned to Zanu Pf government.
The farmers have failed to produce adequately, forcing the country to rely on imports.
The governor said farmers should add value to their products so they can meet international export standards adding that farming was the most difficult business one could engage in.
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“Farming is the most difficult business that one can engage in because sometimes you will not know how much the commodity will fetch, look at cotton, prizes always change and also it needs timing and good planning,” he said.
In a speech read on his behalf, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa called on local farmers to adjust their farming methods in line with climatic changes.
