Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) have launched an operation to combat the misappropriation of farming inputs meant to be distributed to smallholder farmers countrywide under the Presidential Inputs Programme.
GMB chief executive officer Edson Badarai told State media that nearly 90 tonnes of fertiliser have been recovered while 22 arrests have been made and five armed robberies involving Presidential inputs have been recorded since distribution began.
Some of the criminals are reportedly diverting the inputs for resale on the black market. Said Badarai:
The GMB is carrying out a blitz in conjunction with law enforcement agencies to recover inputs being sold on the black market.
The blitz has so far led to the recovery of 89.4 tonnes of fertilisers that had been diverted to the black market from the Presidential Inputs Programme.
The blitz is meant to destroy the market for the inputs and make them unfavourable to dealers…
Five cases of robbery involving inputs have been recorded, bringing a new dimension to criminality, which in previous years only involved unscrupulous beneficiaries.
To prevent such incidents, inputs are accompanied from GMB depots to the wards by a team, including GMB staff, extension officers and members of the ZRP.
Meanwhile, five suspected thieves were arrested recently after they stole agricultural inputs worth US$30 000 from a Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot.
The gang of five reportedly stormed a GMB depot at Charandura in Chirumanzu and stole 540 bags of compound D fertilizer and 17 bags of shelled ground nuts which they then loaded into their truck.
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