HARARE – The presidential agricultural inputs scheme which distributes free seed and fertiliser to communal farmers under Pfumvudza has gobbled ZW$828 billion government budget in 2023, parliament heard Tuesday.
Presenting the ministry’s 2024 budget expectations before parliament’s lands committee Wednesday, chief finance officer in the ministry, Peter Mudzamiri said the biggest chunk of the 2023 budget went to presidential inputs.
The amount was more than the funds spent on key projects such as construction of dams.
“In the 2023 budget, the compensation of employees took $97 billion, CBZ bank guarantee took $69 billion, Grain Marketing Board (GMB) strategic grain reserve took $132 billion, Zimbabwe agriculture commodity exchange we invested $200 million in that organisation.
“Agriculture finance cooperation took $5,5 billion and then the presidential input programme took about $828 billion,” Mudzamiri said.
He added, “dam construction took $224 billion, the rest of the other ministry land items took $227 billion, the total of all these is $1,5 trillion.”
The presidential input scheme, for all its ostensible reasons to empower communal farmers, has been viewed as a strategy by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to oil his patronage system within the country’s rural populace where Zanu PF and its leader draw most of its support.
Zimbabwe held harmonised elections this year.
