By 
Former Regional Executive Officer of the Commercial Farmers’ Union in Zimbabwe, Ben Greeth has lambasted the government’s agricultural partnership with Eastern Europe country Belarus.
The deal with a value of $58 million will see the Republic of Belarus supplying agricultural equipments and training 1000 local farmers.
The initiative has been brought up by the Consul General for Zimbabwe in Belarus – Alexander Zingman aiming to totally mechanize agriculture in Zimbabwe using comprehensive set of machinery-tractors, planters, harvesters and trucks –to cultivate and harvest maize and wheat.
A huge load of farm machinery is on its way across the Indian Ocean, in the bowels of a transport ship. A $ 58 million deal, six grain harvesters ,100 tractors ,16 seed drills, five fifth wheels trucks five semi-trailers are on their way from Belarus. Fourteen grain harvesters and 36 units are already in Harare.
Ten trainers from Belarus are also in Harare, with five more on the way, in year of training of farmers in Zimbabwe that is hoped will kick start a struggling industry that was once a pride of the nation.
Executive Director of the Mike Campbell Foundation and Former Regional Executive Officer of the Commercial Farmers ‘s Union in Zimbabwe, Ben Greeth said that farmers doubt the coming in of the Belarus equipment and training of 1000 farmers to improve the agricultural sector.
“Belarus is not known for its agricultural productivity. Their climate, crops, pests and diseases and systems of production are different to ours. It’s difficult to believe how effective they will be in teaching us to farm,” says Freeth.
“Belarus tractors have never been known for their quality or power. They were never bought by Zimbabwe farmers in the past. Training up 1000 Zimbabwe isn’t the power or neither to buy all this equipment from Belarus.
There are thousands of brilliant farmers already. What we need is property rights and the rule of law. Sadly, the Belarus scheme will fail the same as every other scheme has failed because of property rights and the rules of law are so insecure and tenuous,” he said.
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