SOME villagers in Gwanda, Matabeleland South province, say they are likely to experience a poor maize crop harvest citing high costs of farm inputs at planting stage.
A Gwanda North ward 4 villager, who declined to be named, told Southern Eye that a bumper harvest is highly unlikely because of the high cost of farming inputs.
“Some of us are definitely going to have a poor harvest because we could not afford to purchase farming inputs, including maize seed and fertilizers despite the heavy rains experienced this year,” the villager said.
“It is a very sad situation because we all thought that this time around, we were all going to have surplus crops, hence enough food security since God decided to bless us with the rains,” the villager said.
“Most of us do not work. How then are we expected to afford to buy seed. We need the government to assist us on such issues because we deserve better.
“May our local leaders act because as far as I am concerned, they are the ones who are supposed to assist us when we faced with such challenges.”
Gwanda North MP Desire Nkala said villagers were bearing the brunt of the high cost of farming inputs.
“The challenge is that the maize seed is costly this time around,” he said.
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“It is too high for a normal person in rural areas, hence that leads to high dependency on government.
“This is a nationwide challenge. It was raised in the august House that many cannot afford the current prices of the seeds.”
Nkala said he would engage the government on how affected citizens would be assisted.
“We will engage the government and ask them to send people to assess the situation so that people will get food assistance to sustain them until the next rainy season,” he said.
