GMB must repair silos to avert grain crisis

EDITOR — In yesterday’s edition of The Herald you reported on the GMB’s $50 million storage headache and I guess this is one issue that needs urgent planning to avoid a catastrophe.

Zimbabwe and the whole of Southern Africa have received favourable rains and as such the grain from Command Agriculture is likely to reach or exceed projected targets.

A crisis is looming if a quick resolution is not devised. If possible, GMB should engage firms that deal with silo refurbishment, enter into long-term agreements to rehabilitate and maintain our silos on credit.

The truth is that the $50 million may not be readily available, but the maize is already on its way. For this credit facility, they can repay the money over a five-year period with favourable interest.

With Zimbabwe driving towards food self-sufficiency, it would be sad if we failed to find proper storage for our grain.

Farmers are playing their part in the Command Agriculture initiative and their visible commitment is commendable.

GMB needs to come to the fore and repay their efforts by ensuring less obstacles, come harvest time.

There is also a need for harmony and co-ordination between Government ideas and parastatal actions.

When the Command Agriculture initiative was launched, did the GMB inform Government of the deplorable state of our silos?

Time will tell whether these decisions were being made in consultation with the principals.

However, it would be sad for Zimbabwe should we reach the target maize stock then fail to store it safely.

Meanwhile, the authorities should also investigate farmers who misrepresented facts to Command Agriculture officers.

Unscrupulous farmers may have collected more inputs after lying about their farm sizes.

But this programme has enough checks and balances to unearth these.

We are headed for good times and the GMB should be on their toes to prepare for the maize. Isaac Mhombera, Marondera.