HON. J. TSHUMA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I would want to thank the Committee on Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development led by Hon. Chitindi for bringing up such an important dossier before this august House.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to speak with reference to farming in Matabeleland vis-à-vis farming in Mashonaland. There is going to be a bit of arithmetic’s involved here, so I hope we brace ourselves for that so that we understand and the Commission can help us to bring this whole thing in a holistic approach and manner in such a way that there is fair practice in terms of payment of levies when it comes to farm ownership. I say so because mainly in Matabeleland, we practice cattle ranching.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I will let you know that one cow needs about two and half to four hectares of land. The cow is bred for about two years for it to be mature enough to be sold. When it is sold, the prices range between $300 to $500, which means that a farmer in Matabeleland is actually realising about $500 per every three to four hectares. Our counterparts in Mashonaland where there is favourable rain patterns, on one hectare only, can produce between seven to ten tonnes of maize. The price at GMB is so favourable; it is about $390 per tonne. If you calculate that you will know that it means that a farmer in Mashonaland is going to make over $3900 per hectare per farming season, while a farmer in Matabeleland makes $500 per four hectares. If you divide it, it is about $100 per hectare per two seasons. For us to then tax these people at par will be totally wrong. This is because somebody else is making money and somebody else is actually taking out money to sustain their projects.
My appeal to the Land Committee is that when they come up with structures and pricing for these things, please bear with farmers in Matabeleland. We are cattle rangers and we do not normally produce crops that give good yields per season and give good returns per every agricultural year. Mr. Speaker Sir, it is very important that we address this through that Commission so that we all feel that we are part of this whole system and we are moving together. Once that area is touched, I think that will alleviate the problems that Matabeleland farmers are facing at the moment.
My second contribution Mr. Speaker Sir to the Land Commission is that I hope that the audits that are being spoken about are going to be carried out thoroughly. We are tired as a nation to see people that are going out to farms to carry out braais and parties instead of farming. Let us be sincere about this thing. It is not about being partisan; it is about food security for our nation, which will in turn make sure that we do not spend money in importing food. That will come from sincere operations on farms. I hope that we shall all adhere to the systems of the Land Commission whereby if you cannot use it, you must lose it so that we give people who are capable of using these things for the betterment of our nation.
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