adminThe cost of importing a tonne of wheat is $530 while it costs a local farmer $540 to produce the same tonne. This has seen millers preferring to import instead of relying on the local crop because it is expensive to grow.
The country only started growing wheat after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 when the colonial Ian Smith regime was hit by sanctions.
In fact it was never an economic decision to grow the crop.
Arguments have been proffered that it would make sense to use the irrigation capacity and water as supplementary irrigation in dry summer spells to ensure larger harvests of export crops such as tobacco and ensure there are no failures in the maize crop. The arguments are justified to some extent but we still feel the country should be self-reliant and support the Government policy to promote the growing of wheat as a way of boosting food security.
Commentators arguing that concentrating on certain cash crops like tobacco to earn foreign currency is a better option are probably saying so with the idea that we then use the foreign currency to import wheat.
But what if the countries we import from suffer declines in production of the crop and have no surplus for export, what do we do?
Besides crop failure, there are other reasons like the souring of relations between us and those countries where we import the wheat. There is also no assurance on the strategy of abandoning wheat to concentrate on tobacco because of the intensifying anti-tobacco lobby.
Last week the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control released its latest draft recommendations on tobacco farming and environmental practices.
According to Rodney Ambrose, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, instead of helping “aid economic transition of tobacco growers and workers whose livelihoods are seriously affected as a consequence of tobacco control programmes” as originally intended — the punitive recommendations, if passed into law, will drive tobacco growers out of business.
The four key proposals that the International Tobacco Growers’ Association is calling into question relate to regulations governing when tobacco may be grown; restricting financial and technical support for tobacco growers; and enforcing global co-operative move to compel tobacco growers to abandon their crop simultaneously.
So abandoning wheat to concentrate on other crops such as tobacco is not a viable option given that the future of tobacco is uncertain because of the proposals being pushed by the WHO.
We agree with acting Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Ignatius Chombo that importing wheat from neighbouring countries or from elsewhere in the world is not the solution.
In any case, the imported wheat might not be of the best quality.
Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe chairman Mr Tafadzwa Musarara said while producing wheat locally was not viable, we cannot rely entirely on imports.
As Minister Chombo rightly said, Government should invest in agriculture and improve wheat production.
Water and electricity are key to the growing of tobacco and Government must ensure farmers have power on time.
Agricultural economist Mr Midway Bhunu’s suggestion to look for alternative sources of energy which are cheaper is worth pursuing. The alternative sources of energy will also come in handy because Zesa is facing challenges providing reliable power supplies.
Government should also promote research and development of wheat varieties that can give high yields under the country’s climatic conditions as suggested by Mr Bhunu.
By importing wheat from other countries we are helping those countries grow their economies and create jobs for their people while our own farmers and workers wallow in poverty. The world over some countries go to the extent of subsidising their farmers and Government should not hesitate to take measures that help the growing of wheat.
Online Reporter