Source: MPs Reject Command Agriculture | ZimEye
The parliamentary committee on Lands, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development has exposed flaws on the Command Agriculture programme.
Presenting a report in the National Assembly on Thursday, the committee chairperson Christopher Chitindi said most farmers did not get inputs on time.
“In all the provinces that were visited by the committee, the recipients complained that they did not get the inputs on time. In one case, at Chibero College, they received their Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertiliser on March 9, 2017 and this was of no use because the crop had been badly affected. The college highlighted that they would store the fertilisers for use in the next season.
“Most of the farmers who interacted with the committee learnt of Command Agriculture through secondary sources such as neighbours and not from the official channels.
“This is due to the fact that most smallholder farmers do not belong to farming associations and Agritex officers are not mobile due to lack of vehicles.”
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