Zimbabwe's major fertiliser companies say they may not be able to supply the country with desperately needed agricultural inputs, unless government addresses problems such as the shortage of foreign currency. Production in Zimbabwe's agricultural sector hit an all-time low this year and the slump in output of Southern Africa's former bread-basket - which has been blamed on the government's fast-track land resettlement programme, erratic weather and the impact of HIV/AIDS - could worsen, fertiliser producers of have warned.
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The major national seed supplier, Seedco, had a more positive outlook, saying it had 1.9 million mt of seed, 91 percent of the country's annual seed needs of 2,1 million mt. But the company warned that the critical shortage of fertiliser may scuttle attempts at an agricultural revival, in a country where 80 percent of farming activities depend on availability of the inputs required for various types of soil conditions. The Zimbabwe Farmers Union had previously warned that inflationary pressures were having an extremely negative impact on the ability of farmers to access agricultural inputs. |