Food and Nutrition Policy welcome

to become food secure.

The policy and its implementation plan must be acted upon as soon as possible for the country to realise food security.

Going through the document leaves one with no doubt that it is a panacea to food shortages. What is needed now is for the line Government ministries to put their “shoulders to the wheel” for the policy to benefit Zimbabweans.

This includes the Ministry of Finance, which has not been enthusiastic about funding agriculture.

It is time Finance Minister Tendai Biti realises that through the Food and Nutrition Security Policy, the country can regain its bread basket status.
What is important now is the funding of agriculture, especially the establishment of irrigation schemes.

Zimbabwe is endowed with so many water bodies, yet these have been underutilised for a long time. Government officials are fully aware that irrigation is the answer to the problems of food production, but they have been found wanting when it comes to action. It is a fact that farmers have been crippled because of shortage of rainfall as they rely on rain-fed agriculture, which is becoming unreliable.

Crop production requires adequate and even distribution of water, but the country is receiving high rainfall in some instances followed by dry spells, greatly affecting yields. This is where irrigation farmers who can produce food throughout the year and boost the country’s food security come in.
Small-scale irrigation schemes can protect thousands of farmers from food insecurity and climate risks.

In Ghana, for instance, small private irrigation schemes already employ 45 times more individuals and cover 25 times more land than public irrigation schemes. If this can happen in Ghana, a fellow African country, it can also be the same here if Zimbabweans take irrigation seriously.

In Zimbabwe, while water resources are often sufficient, farmers lack the means to harvest it, which limits crop production to the rainy season and diminishes food security.

Irrigation schemes can easily become a major driver, not only of food security, but also of economic growth and poverty reduction. In recent years, food production has declined in the country mainly because climate change is making the rainfall pattern very erratic.

Depending on rain-fed agriculture no longer remains the option for attaining food security.

What is needed is a deliberate effort to shift to irrigation.

This is where the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development should be more visible.

The period of watching in dismay as crops wilt when we have dams that are full should end if the Food and Nutrition Security Policy is to be a success. Why should we continue blaming erratic rainfall for poor crop yields when we know for sure that the way to go is to irrigate?
Apart from the lethargic approach to irrigation, Government has failed to pursue other programmes that can turn the country into producing food all year round.

For instance, a brilliant project to turn vast tracks of land in the Lowveld into maize winter cropping died a natural death.

Yet the idea was to use the Lowveld as a trial run, with the programme set to be implemented in different parts of the country. The idea was to show that with winter irrigation, it is easy to turn vast tracts of land into green belts and produce crops all year round. In areas where they are functional, irrigation schemes have transformed lifestyles and communities.

This is evident in areas such as Mutoko, Mutambara, Nyanyadzi, Odzi, Mhondoro and Zvimba, where the schemes have become an indispensable part for households.

There were recent reports that Government will soon unveil a National Irrigation Development Policy that will facilitate the setting up of an Irrigation Fund under which farmers will access low interest loans to develop irrigation projects on their farms.

This is a noble idea which tallies with the food policy, but its implementation needs commitment from those responsible. What is needed apart from irrigation development is to adequately fund farmers. There should be enough domestic support measures to vulnerable smallholder farmers to ensure access to key agricultural inputs.

This will in turn improve productive on farms.

Government must come up with measures for timeous provision of quality seed to the farmers.

Farmers also need support with tillage services through the promotion of draught power and the provision of appropriate tillage equipment and affordable mechanisation.

For the success of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy, there is also a need to revamp extension services through recruitment, re-training and retention of extension workers.

Farmers’ skills also need to be developed through workshops. Our experts must concentrate on developing crop varieties and animal breeds that are tolerant to the prevailing physical environmental conditions.

The Agricultural Rural Development Agency, which used to put vast tracks of land under irrigation, needs to be adequately funded to return to its original status.