Lands Ministry warns of scammers 

Lands Ministry warns of scammers

Mako Jerera

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has urged farmers to disregard an advert circulating on various social media platforms, calling for applications for what is being purported to be agricultural support.

In a statement, Lands, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Secretary Dr John Basera said malcontents created a fake Facebook page.

“The Ministry disowns the Facebook page (Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Rural Development) which is fake and does not belong to our Ministry. Our official Facebook page is Lands Agriculture Zimbabwe. Members of the public are warned to be cautious of losing their hard earned cash to this fraudster.

The Ministry, International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Smallholder Cluster Programme (SACP) will not be held liable for any losses and inconveniences incurred by members of the public who respond to this fake advertisement,” said PS Bhasera.

PS Bhasera said the Agriculture Ministry has not reached a stage where it calls for expressions of interest from targeted beneficiaries, which include agriculture producer groups, small business enterprises and value chain lead enterprises.

The programme is currently carrying out sensitization of communities in different provinces namely, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Matabeleland North and Midlands.

The sensitisations are being carried out in conjunction with local development structures coordinated through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development at provincial and district level.
Targeted districts include Rushinga, Muzarabani, Mt Darwin, Shamva (Mashonaland Central), Goromonzi, Murehwa, Mutoko, Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP), (Mashonland East), Chegutu, Mhondoro-Ngezi, Zvimba, Sanyati (Mashonaland West). In Matabeleland North, districts that will benefit from this intervention are Hwange, Binga, Lupane and Nkayi while in Midlands the project will cover Kwekwe and Chirumanzu.

PS Bhasera added that the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has partnered with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), OPEC Fund for International Development, private sector and prospective beneficiaries (agriculture production groups, macro, small and medium enterprises, value chain lead enterprises) to implement the Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project (SACP) which will run until December 2027.