Command Agric charms Europe

Kuda Bwititi Chief Reporter
Zimbabwe’S Specialised Maize Production and Import Substitution Programme, or Command Agriculture, has stimulated global interest, with the country targeting US$1 billion yearly from horticulture exports to Europe.

Major international companies are also keen to supply equipment, while European countries will provide US$50 million for Zimbabwe’s agriculture programmes in 2017.

Among the European working with Harare are Spain, The Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Germany, France and Poland.

Oranges, cabbages, carrots, green beans, passion fruit, chillies, peaches and pears are some of the horticulture products that have caught international attention.

In an interview with The Sunday Mail last week, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made said, “What is significant is that all these companies are coming on the confidence that has been built on the structure of the Command Agriculture initiative, which facilitates investors’ repayment.

“Command Agriculture has set a good precedent in that if you pay up, you gain the confidence of other businesses. The technology from these European countries is saturated, and the companies are also looking for products because they have the markets.” He continued: “These companies are coming in with drip irrigation equipment, centre pivots and so on. Notably, they are coming to look at long-term relationships and investment. For example, when the French companies came to Zimbabwe, they indicated that the few days they spent in the country were not enough, and they needed to return so that they would look at the entirety of the country.

“The stage where Britain would say ‘don’t go to Zimbabwe’ is now past, and these companies are looking for genuine business opportunities. What we want to say is kuwanda huuya, and we welcome anyone who supports our agrarian reform. We do business on our terms. Our stance is that the real mover of productivity is not GMOs, but machinery and equipment.”

Dr Made said Command Horticulture could become Zimbabwe’s prime foreign currency earner alongside other key crops like tobacco.

“The approach to Command Horticulture is very prudent in mobilising resources. This is one sector that can be pushed so that we can earn up to US$1 billion annually. So, if we can earn US$1 billion from horticulture and add that to the US$1 billion we are earning from other agriculture components, the totality of exports from agriculture can reach up to US$5 billion and above. What we now need is development of irrigation equipment.

“When we talk about the Command Horticulture component, it is simply to put in place the drive to mobilise cheap resources as well as provide infrastructure that a farmer will otherwise find expensive to acquire on their own.”

Head of the EU delegation to Zimbabwe Ambassador Philippe Van Damme said they would give Zimbabwe US$40 million for livestock production and an additional US$10 million for agriculture technical support.

“This year, we are expecting a jump in agriculture exports from Zimbabwe to EU countries, particularly horticulture products. As the EU delegation in Zimbabwe, we are launching a programme to rebuild the value chain in the livestock industry.

“We are planning to have partnerships with smallholder farmers as well as extension officers. It’s a broad programme that will also increase the fight against cattle diseases. We are going to provide US$40 million for livestock support and US$10 million as complementary support.

“We want to assist in providing production centres, especially smallholder farmers so that we can bring them together and give them technical advice at community level under public-private community partnerships.” On Zimbabwe’s land reforms, Ambassador Van Damme said: “We have always said that we do not have a problem with the idea of land reform, but we had problems with other issues such as violation of property rights, the violence and other issues.”

Zimbabwe is expected to harvest more than 2,7 million tonnes of grain this year, thanks to Command Agriculture and the Presidential Well-Wishers Agricultural Inputs Support Scheme.

The horticulture sub-sector is on the rebound too, with Government recently banning importation of locally available produce.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe also unveiled a US$10 million support package for the sub-sector.