Private sector not keen on contract farming

Private sector not keen on contract farming
Published: 11 August 2017
Government has expressed concern over the private sector's reluctance to provide significant funding support to agriculture, which provides a number of key raw materials required by industry for manufacturing processes.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Responsible for Livestock) Paddy Zhanda said only a few private sector companies, among them Nestle Zimbabwe and Dendairy, had come on board to complement Government efforts in agriculture.

Deputy Minister Zhanda said private firms were little involved in contract farming or other financing models such as joint ventures, which he said were critical for structured financing and providing assured markets for farm produce, as in tobacco.

Zhanda said Government had issues with private firms not keen on investing in agriculture and causing production of raw materials they needed. He also noted Government was not investing in tobacco, Zimbabwe's single largest foreign exchange earner; raking in over half a billion dollars annually.

Tobacco has thus far earned $540 million this season.
- Herald
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