Where is the fertilizer?

The Herald 11/01/2010

THE shortage of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at this crucial stage of crop development has exposed glaring shortcomings among some of those tasked with managing and providing leadership.

Most farmers have already started counting their losses owing to the unavailability of top dressing AN fertilizer, an important requirement for the early-planted maize crop, almost reaching the tasselling stage.

The unavailability of AN fertilizer is largely a result of poor planning by the Ministry of Finance and that of Agriculture. It is a clear indication that we still have some elements in the inclusive Government that can only be happy with the failure of land reform in order to justify their calls for the return of land to white commercial farmers.

Just before the onset of the farming season reports were awash in the newspapers of input schemes that the Government had entered into with various partners to ensure availability of crop inputs.

The reports indeed created a lot of excitement among farmers, who, barring a drought, were anticipating a bumper cropping season.

All that anticipation has vanished amid a serious shortage of fertilizer on the market leaving many farmers describing the season in only three words — disaster, disaster, disaster. Unless something very dramatic happens, crop production — especially that of maize — is already compromised.

We are all aware of the much-publicised US$210 million crop inputs scheme and other schemes in which the Government partnered NGOs to ensure fertilizer and seed were available.

But we ask the question: "What has happened to the schemes? Where have the much-hyped inputs gone?’’

It is an indisputable fact that farming is big business and the Land Reform Programme created massive business opportunities for industry but it appears our industry has dismally failed to respond.

Fertilizer should be readily available on the market. Anyone should be able to get into a shop and buy a bag of fertilizer without any hassle.

We do not think farmers are clamouring for handouts but commodity availability. It is a pity that the ministries of Finance and Agriculture that should have been at the forefront of ensuring that the agricultural sector was adequately serviced slept on the wheel.

Fertilizer companies — ZFC and Windmill — should also be held accountable for this threat to national food security. They should be happy that land reform has created business for them but when companies do not respond positively to business opportunities it leaves people with no choice but to conclude that we still have saboteurs within our midst.

Minister of Agriculture Joseph Made was quoted yesterday as saying farmers had failed to buy fertilizer because of a misunderstanding between Government and the GMB over administrative issues.

He went further to say the problem emerged after the responsible officials failed to follow proper tender procedures in the supply of the product. How incompetent officials can put a whole nation at risk of food insecurity really boggles the mind.

But again putting the blame on GMB officials is not only unfair but also wrong as we feel Government should shoulder the blame as matters of national food security rest squarely on the Government and not individuals at the GMB.

Farmers do not expect explanations at this stage of the season but fertilizer availability because all the logistics and administrative issues should have long been done.

If the GMB does not have the capacity to run the inputs programme, surely fertilizer companies should simply be capacitated to produce enough and distribute to shops across the country as was the case in the past.

We hope assurances by Minister Made that the issue had been resolved will see farmers being able to buy fertilizer at the GMB depots without problems. But the long-term solution still remains that of making fertilizer readily available on the open market.