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When our brave sons and daughters fought in the First and Second Chimurenga, land was at the heart of the struggle.
They simply wanted back their land which had been dispossessed by white settlers while condemning native folks to barren, thorny, overpopulated and rocky lands such as Gwayi and Shangani.
When we won the liberation struggle, we progressed towards our goal through various land reform programmes.
The green stripe on the Zimbabwe national flag is a constant reminder of our precious vegetation and land resources.
That is why our national anthem prays: “Let rain abound and fields yield the seed; may all be fed and workers rewarded”.
Echoes reverberating from the green stripe on our national flag say that hunger is not our portion. Even our Constitution has made it apparent in Section 77(b) that every person has a right to sufficient food.
Further, Section 15 says: “The State must encourage people to grow and store adequate food and secure the establishment of adequate food reserves.”
You see, we are still the same country that used to be the breadbasket of Southern Africa. That is why we have made such strong pledges towards self-sufficiency in our Constitution.
That pledge was informed by our sleeping giant potential.
It is unfortunate that agricultural production has been deteriorating, partly due to the changing climatic conditions, lack of adequate funding, low capacity utilisation of land, flawed agricultural policies, low commodity prices, sanctions, yes sanctions, amongst other factors.
Production of maize, which is the country’s staple, has declined from high levels of around 2,6 million tonnes recorded in 1996 to about 743 000 tonnes in the 2014/15 season, and much lower in the current season which was aggravated by the El Nino-induced drought.
The country needs about two million tonnes of maize per annum for both food and feed. Already we see a substantial maize deficit for this season which may require us to import maize worth US$450 million, according to my rough estimates (multiply the landed cost of a tonne of maize at US$315 by a rough projected deficit of 1,4 million tonnes).
We will come back to this rough figure later.
Folks, Government has already told us that the national food insecurity status has risen sharply by almost four times, from 12 percent in 2011 to 42 percent in 2016.
The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Report for 2016 also reported that four million Zimbabweans are likely to be food insecure.
A state of disaster has already been declared on the food situation in the Republic. Like I alluded here last week, agriculture is the backbone of this economy. Folks; agriculture provides livelihoods to 80 percent of the population and accounts for 23 percent of formal employment.
The sector also contributes 14 — 18 percent to gross domestic product and approximately 33 percent of foreign earnings.
Against the above background, government believes that the future of Zimbabwe lies in the development of a diversified, vibrant, competitive and efficient agricultural sector.
However, drought aside, it appears that there hasn’t been serious commitment, both local and foreign, in investing towards the resuscitation of this vital sector and return it to its glory days.
Agriculture recorded the least value in investment, from all the projects approved by the Zimbabwe Investment Authority in the first six months of the year. Out of total projects valued at US$305,5 million; agriculture recorded only 4 projects valued at about US$250 000.
Zimbabwe has also not been meeting thresholds set under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, ratified by Zimbabwe. CAADP states that African states must increase their budget allocations towards agriculture to at least 10 percent per year.
Yet the country’s national budget allocation towards agriculture averages as little as five percent.
Folks, lack of adequate commitment towards the agriculture sector can only lead to hunger, despondency, poverty and economic underdevelopment.
This is why I fully support the recent announcement by Government’s Cabinet Committee on Food Security and Nutrition that it has launched a US$500 million command agricultural programme to ensure self-sufficiency.
The programme is targeting to produce two million tonnes of maize (which is our national requirement) on 400 000 hectares of land.
This will be achieved by identifying 2 000 farmers who will be given free inputs, irrigation and mechanised equipment.
From what I gathered, farmers will then commit five tonnes per hectare to Government as repayment for the inputs and agricultural equipment and retain all surplus produced for personal use.
Any takers?
Let’s bring in some 411 to give insight into this planned government programme and see whether it is ideal to implement as is.
First of all, when you look at the US$450 million that is going to be used to finance maize importation, you will realise that the figure is almost equivalent to the money we are now trying to mobilise to bankroll this agricultural programme.
If we had simply invested the money we are now going to use to import maize in agriculture, there was not going to be any drought to talk about and no state of disaster to declare.
Going forward, we need to be proactive towards agriculture and not reactive when hunger strikes.
The US$500 million translates to about US$1 250 per hectare. The money will be adequate, considering that it costs roughly US$1 055 per hectare to produce dry land maize and over US$1 500 for the irrigated crop, according to the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union.
The Union breaks down some of the figures as follows: labour US$95, seed US$48, fertiliser US$384, herbicides US$39, and a cocktail of other costs.
However, I think government is being ambitious to say that farmers participating in the programme should give back five tonnes of maize per hectare as tithe.
Iye murimi ambowana matonnes mangani per hectare, in the first place? Ten tonnes per hectare?
In 2014, the country’s average yield of maize was 0,85 tonnes per hectare. In competitive countries such as South Africa, which also uses genetically modified varieties, the average yield of maize is six tonnes per hectare.
For Caesar to then require five tonnes per hectare to be rendered unto him, it might be difficult if not impossible.
Judging by the country’s average maize yield, the farmers who are going to participate are already facing a deficit of 4,25 tonnes per hectare, especially those who will not be using irrigation.
Half of the targeted farmers do not use irrigation.
Folks, let’s be real, will you take this deal? Or you will think that government is using farmers as surrogates who bear it all — from morning sickness, to back pains, to labour pains, then boom — it is all gone.
Government should, therefore, revisit its targeted yield per hectare or reduce what it expects farmers to commit to the Grain Marketing Board as repayment for the free inputs.
Otherwise the deal will have no takers.
The participating farmers should also be incentivised through schemes such as lower water and electricity tariffs, exemption from paying land rent and land development tax and other areas that can be looked at to further lower down the production costs of maize. We also have learnt from history that free inputs are sometimes abused or sold by farmers, which might further deteriorate production if unchecked.
There is therefore need for a concrete monitoring mechanism that ensures that all the inputs are fully utilised for the use they were purposed.
As we prepare for the 2016/17 agricultural season, “let rain abound and fields yield the seed; may all be fed and workers rewarded”.
Later folks!
Online Reporter