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Since the advent of the Second Republic, President Mnangagwa’s Government has implemented a number of interventions to transform the country’s agriculture sector.
The Herald has been serialising the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy -2023-2025 every Thursday for the benefit of our readers.
Continued from last week
Institutions, capacity development and farmer organisations
Broad Institutional reforms and capacity building initiatives were implemented during the first half of AFSTS.
These include the restructuring of the Ministry and accelerated recruiting to the vacant positions, while ensuring all parastatals boards were in place. The rebranding and restructuring of all ministry’s parastatals led to better service delivery. The ministry structure was developed with a strong provincial coordination mechanism aligned with Government devolution and decentralisation thrust. The “physical motorisation” of Agritex staff in 2022, transformation from Agricultural Education 2.0, focusing on producing extensionists from agricultural colleges, to Agricultural Education for Development 5.0, focusing on producing entrepreneurs, were among the far-reaching changes to create a human resource capital base to sustain ongoing agricultural transformation. Further restructuring and reorganisation is required to accelerate the transformation of the sector.
Parastatals within the ministry have to undergo a fundamental strategic shift to align with NDS1 and Vision 2030 and AFSRTS. As part of this broader strategy parastatals, for example, the Agricultural Marketing Authority, is now regulating for growth; ARDA is now the food, feed, fibre, oils and seed security agent for the nation; ZINWA is now the water engineer for the nation while causing community development; COTTCO is transforming communities; while AFC is the accelerator of agricultural development through provision of innovative financing solutions ; and the GMB is ‘now the nation’s grains supply chain manager. Other institutional reforms included:
Establishment of a dedicated Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
Establishment of provincial directors to coordinate all agricultural activities at province level, to align with the devolution and decentralisation thrust.
Establishment of the online Zimbabwe Open Agricultural College’, as a fully-fledged ninth agricultural college.
Implementation of the High Frequency Monitoring System (HFMS) and crisis modifier to track agriculture production and provide alerts for timely intervention
Introduction of the Vision 2030 Vulnerability Livelihoods Assessment Tracker (VALT), among many others.
The devolved, “whole of Government approach” significantly positively impacted the AFSTS initiatives under various anchor plans. Provinces took responsibility and demanded accountability from all provincial stakeholders. The working party of officials, and Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution interface meetings with the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Development provided an effective local and national level coordination mechanism.
The AFSTS also benefited from national level coordination meetings with treasury, and various ministries. Periodic meetings of 20 agriculture working groups, established in 2021, completed the coordination and collaborative accountability frameworks.
Farmers’ organisations and associations continue to play a strong organisational and coordination role in the transformation of the agricultural sector.
These organisations represent farmers’ interests, promote a proliferation of associations which has been seen lacking. The Farmers Licencing Act and Farmer Stop Order Act will therefore be reviewed to regulate their contact for the development of the industry. Legislation such as the Fencing Act, Brands Act, among others, should be strengthened to enhance discipline in farming areas, reduce livestock and infrastructure thefts and enhance labour productivity.
The fate of former farm workers on A1 farms will be conclusively addressed, while those on A2 farms will have to comply with applicable labour laws with their new employers.
The ministry structure was strengthened with the introduction of the Agricultural and Rural Advisory Services Directorate, the establishment of Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Services Development, Migratory Pest Control and Training under this directorate.
Fisheries and aquaculture production and productivity
In 2021 the mandate for fisheries and aquaculture development was given to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
Fish production in Zimbabwe is anchored on production from fresh water capture fisheries and aquaculture. The predominant commercial production is from Lake Kariba. Capture fisheries comprises tilapia and commercial kapenta fishing and artisanal fisheries, targeting breams and other species. Declines in kapenta catches and sizes caught have been observed in Kariba due to overfishing. Growth of the smallholder fisheries sector is expected to accelerate through stocking of village-schools/ youth business units, irrigation schemes and dams under the Rural Development 8.0 thrust. Zimbabwe has a small specialised trout farming industry confined to the Eastern Highlands.
In Zimbabwe crocodile farming is dominated by eight large scale commercial producers. Crocodile farming is primarily for the skin export market, with Europe taking the largest share. Efforts to explore Asian markets have commenced for both skins and crocodile meat.
A Fisheries and Aquatic Development Plan has been developed to guide the development of the sector, which is poised for rapid transformation.
Among the impediments to the rapid development of the fisheries and crocodile sectors are the multiplicity of Government agencies regulating the sector, high licence fees, absence of legislation to guide development of the sector, high feed costs, competition from cheap imports, market development challenges (amidst animal rights lobbyists) and traceability and sustainability issues. The proposed Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill will address many of these challenges.
Land policy
The absence of coherent land policy to guide land administration and governance has been enlightened as an impediment to investments to unlock production and productivity.
The proposed new Land Policy will enhance the bankability and transferability of 99-year leases and ensure equitable and transparent access to land.
Accelerated investments on farms and streamlined land governance and administration are required.
The mining-agriculture interface and conflict should be resolved with the proposed amendments to the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill.
The proposed Land Policy will provide a canvas for the mooted Agrarian Reforms Bill will resolve many outstanding land issues and accelerate 99-year leases insurance and bankability.
Online Reporter