A/HRC/43/44/Add.2 smallholder farmers irrespective of agroecological region. The Scheme was launched for the 2013–2014 farming season, targeting 1.6 million households at a total cost of 161 million United States dollars. 10 The input packages were mainly distributed through the Grain Marketing Board depots throughout the country. However, this became a major challenge for the Scheme, as the depots of the Board are not available to all farming communities, and very often the Board failed to deliver inputs on time for the planting season, as a result of logistical hurdles. 39. Recently, free direct-input distributions have been minimized in favour of the use of subsidized vouchers and contract-farming arrangements. The use of electronic vouchers has also been tested by the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development. The e-vouchers system gives farmers the choice of the inputs they need, but they are also required to contribute to the voucher’s cost. E-vouchers might exclude smallholder farmers who face difficulty in using or accessing technology. The system is struggling to deliver the packages to farmers in a timely fashion because of financial problems. Considering that this programme targets smallholder farmers, it is vitally important to keep it alive. Targeted Command Agriculture programme 40. In August 2016, the Government introduced the Targeted Command Agriculture programme, aimed at ensuring food self-sufficiency and promoting commercial farming. The Command Agriculture programme is the main vehicle for the authorities to spur agricultural production, mostly by focusing on the provision of loan guarantees to farmers for the purchase of inputs. The programme targets farmers residing near water bodies who could manage a minimum of 200 hectares of production per individual. Each participating farmer was required to commit to 5 tons of harvested crops per hectare towards repayment of advanced loans in the form of irrigation equipment, inputs and chemicals, mechanized equipment, electricity and water charges. Farmers were allowed to retain a surplus product produced in excess. 41. The default rate on these loans has been very high (above 35 per cent), with strategic default and off-selling playing an important role.11 Despite these drawbacks, and the large fiscal costs, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement remains committed to the possibility of further expanding it into other agricultural commodities. The Command Agriculture programme has been criticized, however, for its high financial cost, heavy burden on the budget and low returns. 42. The Special Rapporteur considers that overall, Government inputs should be improved to support the agricultural sector while rationalizing expenditures, and should carefully target the beneficiaries and give priorities to subsistence and smallholder farmers. The Special Rapporteur also takes note of the 2019 budget, which envisages a gradual phasing out of these subsidies, allowing the private sector to take the lead in driving sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. This could indeed generate significant productivity improvements, which is low by regional standards, but requires a reorientation of support to improving infrastructure, extension services, human capital and access to finance. IV. Normative content of the right to food A. Availability 43. The availability of food is predicated on the existence of sufficient food produced from natural resources or for sale in the market to satisfy the needs of the population, whether by cultivating land or by engaging in animal husbandry, fishing, hunting or any other ways 10 11 8 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Country fact sheet on food and agriculture policy trends: socio-economic context and role of agriculture” (August 2016). Available at www.fao.org/3/a-i6022e.pdf. International Monetary Fund, “Zimbabwe: Staff-monitored program—press release and staff report”, IMF Country Report No. 19/144 (Washington, D.C., International Monetary Fund, 2019), p. 13.