Recent changes in markets and market relationships and lessons for the design of effective support programmes - Institutional Constraints to Small Farmer Development in Southern Africa - page 265

11.3 Impact of FTLRP on agricultural input markets
Zimbabwe's input markets following fast track land reform was marred by irregularities,
where major crop and livestock inputs were generally in critical short supply and direct
purchases were very limited as there were inadequate stocks on the open market. Most input
and products were sold on the informal markets at exorbitant prices beyond the reach of
most farmers. However, Zimbabwean farmers also benefited from several agricultural input
programmes. The effectiveness and scale of the input supply programmes still need to be
looked into given the unsatisfactory production levels of farmers after the fast track land
reform programme. Some of the input schemes included:
• The Presidential Programme, which was for targeted farmers especially the Champion
farmers.
• Reserve Bank Programme.
• Social Welfare Programme for vulnerable households.
• SADC Agricultural Assistance Programme, supporting communal, old resettlement
and small scale commercial farming.
• Contract Schemes, which are mainly found in the cotton sector.
• NGO Programmes (Red Cross, Care International, and Plan International). NGOs
mainly targeted vulnerable persons/households such as those affected by HIV/AIDS
either as patients or as care-givers, the old and the poor. NGOs did not offer much help
in newly resettled areas.
Smallholder farming sectors (communal areas - CA), Old Resettlement (OR), A1 and small
scale commercial areas (SSCA) contributed more than 90% of the area planted to maize
with communal sector contributing about 64% (GOZ, 2009). Due to persistent input
shortages and rampant market failures following the fast track land reform programme
(FTLRP) and the hyperinflationary pressure until end of 2008, bulk of the maize inputs
were from NGOs especially to cater for the old communal areas, whose people did not
directly benefit from the fast track land reform programme. Open Pollinated varieties
(OPVs) also dominated the maize input market in the period 2000-2008. These included
Red Cork, Red Cob, Hickory King and ZM 521. The traditional high breed Seed Co-op 3
maize seed varieties (SC 401, SC 501, etc.) were in short supply on the formal market.
Shortages of seed on the formal market led to unscrupulous tendencies by informal market
dealers to sell fake seed, packed in Seed Co-op packages. Some seeds that were planted by
farmers were informally sourced from South Africa and other neighbouring countries, and
as such, their viability under Zimbabwean conditions requires further scrutiny.
The fertilizer market was also not spared the unstable economic conditions in Zimbabwe.
Low production by major fertiliser companies (Windmill, Sable Chemicals, ZFC) in
3 Seed Coop: a seed house company that specialises in maize breeding and trading of high breed seed in
Zimbabwe.