CBZ sets aside US$60 million for agriculture

CBZ Bank says it is investing a total of US$60 million into agriculture this year.
The bank’s managing director Lawrence Nyazema said with CBZ as one of the country’s largest financial institutions, it was important for it to provide funds for one of the critical economic sectors.
“If we don’t support agriculture when we have a third of the potential finance in the country, who do we expect to finance it?
“Hence our passion is to finance agriculture. There is no option except for CBZ to play a key role in the financing of agriculture.
“As CBZ this year, we are putting US$60 million into agriculture. Of that US$60 million, US$10 million has gone into horticulture,” Nyazema said during an agriculture exporters seminar.

He expressed optimism that the country would finally resolve its long-standing land tenure issues as the current 99-year lease document has failed to find joy with agriculture financiers.
“I am confident that this issue will be solved this time around,” Nyazema said.
This comes as farmers have also said land tenure needs to be finally fixed to unlock private sector funding, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa settles into his second term in office.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary-general Paul Zakariya told The Financial Gazette last week that as Zimbabwe moves forward after the elections, agriculture producers have their sights set on increased growth in both livestock and crop production and productivity.
“We are hopeful that this period will address the issues of the bankability of 99-year leases that have dragged for more than a decade.
“The finalisation of this issue will enhance easier access to finance for farmland holders.
“In the same vein, the cost of money must be addressed about agriculture in the light of grower viability,” Zakariya said.
“We expect that more financial windows will be opened for farmers of all categories in order to grow the sector to expected levels.
“The crowding in of the private sector in agricultural financing will go a long way in enhancing a solid base for agricultural value chains development.
“This will ensure that commodities are produced by local finances and value addition will then be possible.”
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chris Mugaga has also said the participation of the private sector in agriculture could not be overemphasised.
“We need private sector participation in agriculture more than ever before. For years, one of the major sources of instability in this economy has been funding for agriculture.
“The solution should remain the private sector. In the tobacco sector, under contract-based farming, tobacco has performed very well because the owners of private capital expect returns and this pushes the agriculture sector to deliver.
“It’s high time we start appreciating that farming is a business so the private sector should be the main player in agriculture,” he said.
“But the biggest player within the private sector should be the banks.
“Banks who are willing to listen and offer loans to farmers.
“At the same time, the banks need to be convinced that the 99-year lease is secure because at the moment the ownership structure of our land is not attractive to private financiers.
“The 99-year is not transferable and cannot be collaterised. The ownership model needs to become friendly.
“As long as we have the current ownership model, private sector participation will remain depressed.”
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