Zimbabwean New Farmers Calls for More Support Service

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 16, 2002

Zimbabwean New Farmers Calls for More Support Service

The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) Thursday held its annual congress in Harare, calling for more government support service besides land reform and input programs.

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The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) Thursday held its annual congress in Harare, calling for more government support service besides land reform and input programs.

ZFU second vice president Wilberforce Mashingaidze said at the opening session of the two-day congress at the Harare International Conference Center that access to land for the new farmers required to be buttressed by a range of support services.

"Such support," he said, "includes extension, training, concession finance and effective commodity markets."

"Enabling policies developed through a consultative process with the stakeholders will speed up agricultural development," he added.

He said that the capacity building of farmers unions and indigenous organizations were a critical element of economic empowerment drive.

The small holder farming sector, he said, played a crucial role in poverty alleviation to the majority of the Zimbabwean population, providing food security to the nation, absorbing the increasing unemployed labor force and boosting export earnings.

The ZFU recognizes and appreciates the massive investment made by the government in the agricultural sector through its land reform and input programs.

"More progress can be achieved with the integration of agriculture business into all developed programs," he said.

Vice President Joseph Msika challenged all new farmers to show the rest of the world that when Zimbabweans embarked on the land reform they wanted to prove that they meant business.

The ZFU was established in August 1991 following the merger of the then Zimbabwe National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and the National Farmers Association of Zimbabwe (NFAZ).

The formation of ZNFU dates back to the mid 1930s when it was first known as the Bantu Farmers Union later to change its name to African Farmers Union in 1942. Upon independence it became the ZNFU.

The NFAZ and the ZNFU came together in August 1991 to form the Zimbabwe Farmers Union, which is a representative body of the farmers that stands for, supports and advances the interests of the farmers.

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