1,5m farmers under new e-inputs system

Debra Matabvu

THE Government has registered 1,5 million farmers under a new e-inputs distribution system meant to eliminate fraud, double allocation and abuse of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa inputs by beneficiaries and agricultural extension officers.

The system tracks inputs dispatched by the Government to Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots up to the farmers at ward level.

It also has a database of all farmers at national, provincial, district and ward levels. It is believed the system will come in handy when distribution of the summer cropping inputs begins this month as part of preparations for the 2024/2025 summer cropping season.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Professor Obert Jiri told The Sunday Mail that the new innovation is expected to eliminate abuse of farming inputs.

“We are embarking on e-inputs distribution to reduce abuse of Pfumvudza/Intwasa inputs. This platform will allow beneficiaries to sign electronically, reducing the risk associated with manual beneficiary lists,” Prof Jiri said.

At the collection point at ward level, Prof Jiri added, the AEO issues out the physical inputs to the farmer and also captures the same quantity on the tablet/wallet for verification by the farmer.

“The farmer confirms by signing on the AEO’s tablet/wallet and the record is saved and uploaded on the ministry’s server.

“This ensures that the physical quantities and the wallet quantities are the same. The system will not allow double allocation and permit bulk registration of farmers, thereby having their personal details anytime. The system’s monitoring mechanism enables independent auditors to analyse any anomalies with minimal effort and inputs can be tracked from the suppliers up to the recipient.”

According to the 2024/2025 summer crop plan presented to Cabinet recently, the Government targets to increase production of cereals by 340 percent, with 3,5 million households set to benefit from the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme.

The target is to have a minimum of 400 000 hectares under the scheme.

To date, over 5 000 tonnes of inputs, which include maize, sunflower, sorghum, pearl millet, groundnuts, African peas and sugar beans, have been delivered to GMB depots countrywide, from where they will be distributed to farmers.

According to the 29th Southern Africa Climate Outlook Forum held in Harare last week, Zimbabwe and most countries in the region are likely to receive normal to above-normal rainfall during the forthcoming season.

The latest regional forecast tallies with predictions by the World Meteorological Organisation and other global weather bureaus, which earlier projected that a La Niña weather event was forming in the Pacific Ocean, something that could increase chances of wetter conditions in Zimbabwe and other countries in Southern Africa during the 2024/2025 cropping season.

The latest projections bring hope to Zimbabwe and most countries in the region that are grappling with a prolonged dry spell due to the El Niño phenomenon experienced last season.

The El Niño weather pattern has affected agricultural production and other key sectors like tourism, industry and power generation.