Chronicle Editor
More than 300 000 farmers were allocated land mainly in prime farming areas that used to be a preserve of the minority white farmers following the fast track land reform programme.
Many of the new farmers used to eke out a living from barren communal areas hence the Government’s decision to correct the skewed land ownership which favoured the minority whites. The challenge to the new farmers is to use the land productively so that Zimbabwe can once again become the bread basket of Southern Africa.
It is therefore encouraging when the Head of State and Government President Mnangagwa leads by example in using the land productively. On Sunday President Mnangagwa hosted leaders of different opposition political parties under the Political Actors’ Dialogue (POLAD) at his Precabe Farm in Sherwood on the outskirts of Kwekwe town.
President Mnangagwa took the political leaders on a tour of his farm where he demonstrated that he is also a very successful farmer. He is probably among a few new farmers that have adopted Smart Farming that use technology for tracking, monitoring and analysing operations.
Farming is a business and as such successful farmers are those that take advantage of technology to improve their operations like what President Mnangagwa is doing. The President told his counterparts that despite his busy Government schedule, he took time to manage operations at his farm because he was committed to using the land productively.
The 405ha farm has 350 hectares under irrigated soya and maize and according to President Mnangagwa, the farm has two harvests a year. The opposition political leaders who were very impressed by the farming activities at the farm, said Zimbabwe just needs a few farmers who are as productive as President Mnangagwa to feed the nation.
We want at this juncture to implore the new farmers to emulate President Mnangagwa who is moving with times by adopting new technologies such as computerised monitoring and analysing operations. Farming is a hands on business which requires the farmer to be on the land to direct operations. Some of the new farmers are not producing even enough for their own consumption and such farmers should not be on the land. We have said it before that land is a finite resource and those who have been fortunate to be allocated this resource have an obligation to use it productively.
There are new farmers who have been on the land for nearly 20 years but continue relying on Government for inputs such as seed and fertiliser. These farmers should have long been weaned off and should instead be getting loans from banks to fund their operations. It is important for farmers to invest in equipment and infrastructure so that they are able to grow crops throughout the year and not just wait for summer cropping.
Cultivating crops under irrigation is very reliable given that the rainfall patterns are changing due to climate change. Government has undertaken an audit of farms and those farmers not using their land productively should be moved out of the land so that it can be allocated to those committed to producing food not just for the nation’s consumption but even surplus for export.
Farmers with more than one farm should also b e left with one farm so that the landless can also get land. Government has given new farmers adequate time to demonstrate their commitment to productivity and it is now time to act against those that have failed to productively use the land.
Online Reporter