Zimbabwe: Funding challenges cripple the Pfumudza scheme

Source: Funding challenges cripple Pfumvudza scheme -Newsday Zimbabwe GOVERNMENT owes suppliers over US$300 million for deliveries made under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa agricultural scheme since 2020, putting the viability of the programme under threat, Agriculture ministry secretary Obert Jiri has revealed. Jiri said this while appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture on the farm inputs distribution programme ahead of the 2024/25 farming season. “We are getting there, but we are not yet fully ready as usual, which is not what we want,” he said. “The main challenge of the Pfumvudza scheme is financing. Our contractors whom we have Valley Seeds, Home Fertiliser, Cotton Seeds, ZFC, Windmill are owed in excess of more than US$300 million, for the 2020 season to date. “We owe them quite a lot and this is what delays the movement. If we don’t pay them, they face challenges in moving inputs.” The government introduced the programme a few years ago to boost ...