Farmers financed under Command Agriculture have until November 30 to deliver their maize to the Grain Marketing Board or face being blacklisted from access of Government-guaranteed loans and also face losing their offer letters and tenure documents and thus their farms.
The National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme (NEAPS), commonly known as Command Agriculture, requires farmers to repay their loans, usually in the form of deductions from their crop payments when they deliver. The Financial Clearing Bureau then records their creditworthiness.
CBZ-Agroyield
NEAPS was this year sponsored by the CBZ-Agroyield, which as a private banking scheme is backed by a Government guarantee to banks that raise capital to lend to farmers to enhance local agricultural production through concessionary loans.
Government assisted in ensuring the scheme is well funded with the ultimate goal of converting repayments from recoveries into a revolving fund, meaning that the money paid back this harvest can be relent to farmers to buy inputs for the next cropping cycle.
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka recently highlighted that farmers with outstanding debts will not be enrolled for the next season until they have made a repayment, and this needs to be done by November.
“For the avoidance of doubt, banks that lend to farmers who have not fulfilled the above, will be liable for any defaults. Additional measures will be taken and all national payment platforms will be activated to ensure repayments by defaulting farmers, including submission of names to the Financial Clearing Bureau,” said Minister Masuka.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Dr John Basera said the Minister reserved the right to revoke offer letters for farmers who use their offer letters to the detriment of Government-supported programmes, including an intentional failure to settle loans.
