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Lovemore Chikova Development Dialogue
Western countries that imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe have no choice but to remove them. The illegal sanctions are not justified at all and their intentions are very evil for Zimbabwe.
Everyone now knows that the imposition of the illegal sanctions was meant to cause regime change, an attempt that has failed since the early 2000s.
The route to effecting the illegal regime change was to make the “economy scream” and in the end turn the people against the ruling Zanu PF which they would have blamed for the economic downturn.
As a result, the sanctions indeed affected the economy and slowed Zimbabwe’s march towards accelerated development.
In the face of these illegal sanctions, it is important to note that the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa did not relent in its developmental agenda.
In fact, the development being realised throughout the country has shown that sanctions can be overcome with local innovativeness and planning.
President Mnangagwa, with his team, has crafted the developmental agenda around the main pillars that ensure all areas are uplifted out of poverty, “leaving no place and no one behind”.
In the presence of such a drawback as the illegal sanctions, Zimbabwe’s push for development has not been deterred.
All this defiance started with the coming into office of President Mnangagwa in 2017.
In his speeches soon after taking over, he acknowledged the existence of the sanctions as a hamstring to the country’s development, but assured Zimbabweans that the country had no choice, but to find its way out.
This approach opened the eyes and minds of Zimbabweans, who had since 2001 resigned their fate to the illegal sanctions, with some writing off the country’s developmental efforts.
True to his stance, President Mnangagwa soon started rallying everyone to play their part in the development of the country.
The solution was to make use of local resources, both financial and human, to develop the country, with all playing their expected part to ensure there is progress.
Today, Zimbabwe has indeed changed, with some of the problems brought by sanctions being corrected as the country pursues its internal developmental agenda.
Several developmental projects have taken place in various sectors and they cut across the whole spectrum of development, including roads, dams, irrigation schemes, schools, clinics, hospitals and many other development projects being implemented in far flung areas.
Now, Zimbabwe has done more in terms of development under sanctions compared to the period it used to enjoy foreign aid and instituting foreign prescriptions for development.
Developmental initiatives being instituted by the Second Republic target areas that directly uplift the people by addressing their immediate needs.
Development has been given a new impetus, with various developmental projects being completed in record times — all for the benefit of the people and for improving their livelihood.
President Mnangagwa, through the “Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo” philosophy, has been at the forefront of making sure that Zimbabweans focus on their needs by initiating projects that directly address problems they face.
In the attempt to make the “economy scream” the Western countries hoped that problems created by their sanctions were going to make Zimbabweans go hungry.
Hunger was going to obviously push Zimbabweans into disgruntlement with the Government.
Realising that hunger was the biggest weapon in the enemy’s arsenal, President Mnangagwa initiated various agricultural programmes to ensure the country becomes food self-sufficient.
And the initiatives have worked to such an extent that Zimbabwe has managed to deter the effects of the illegal sanctions through food security.
The country is now food self-sufficient in terms of the staple maize, and is actually contemplating wheat exports after harvesting more than enough for the population.
In fact, the progress made in the agricultural sector has now surpassed the experimental stage and is already bringing results that defy the illegal sanctions.
The illegal sanctions had affected the financing of agriculture as all channels to access such funds dried up.
After realising the problems of inadequate agriculture financing that affected production, President Mnangagwa spearheaded the transformation of Agribank into an institution specifically targeted at providing such funding.
That is how the Agricultural Finance Corporation Holdings (AFC), which includes the new Land and Development Bank, in 2021, was born.
The new financial institution was tasked with boosting and formalising finance for farmers across the full range, from communal land-holders to large commercial farmers.
It comprises four subsidiaries: the AFC Commercial Bank, the AFC Land and Development Bank, AFC Insurance and AFC Leasing Company.
The launch of the new bank drastically improved access to agricultural finance.
The coming in of AFC bridged the gaps created by the illegal sanctions that hindered farmers’ access to finances.
The subsequent seasons since the formation of AFC bank have been a success, with the country realising a surplus.
The financial institution financed crops such as maize, soya beans, sunflower and traditional grains, with communal farmers, irrigation schemes, A1, A2, contractors and institutional farmers receiving the support.
The New Dispensation launched the Pfumvudza/Intwasa farming practice meant to address low agricultural production, with the major objective being to achieve household food security and national food self-sufficiency.
Pfumvudza/Intwasa has since transformed the lives of many farmers across the country, with the practice enhancing maize productivity.
The concept is a climate-proofing farming practice for crop production which emphasises the use of conservation farming.
With this type of farming, the input pack per household is smaller and hence cheaper compared and the Second Republic has been able to avail the inputs to the farmers, mainly those in communal farming.
It has since been proved that the Pfumvudza/Intwasa smallholder farmer achieves a higher yield per hectare compared to the one who uses conventional farming methods.
Pfumvudza/Intwasa has since been extended to include cotton as part of accelerating rural modernisation and industrialisation.
All these efforts are part of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy that was launched by the New Dispensation to ensure there is food security.
Another action taken to bust sanctions in as far as they affect food production is the agricultural mechanisation programme.
President Mnangagwa put all his efforts in ensuring that mechanisation was at the highest level in agriculture.
His efforts resulted in the launch of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Belarus Mechanisation Facility.
To show the importance of the facility, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko launched Phase 2 of the facility during a State visit recently.
Thousands of tractors and a substantial number of combined harvesters and other farm equipment have been shipped to Zimbabwe.
The Government entered into other mechanisation deals with several entities across the world, including John Deere, the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment.
Another masterstroke initiated by President Mnangagwa to fight hunger brought about by the illegal sanctions is the establishment of 35 000 Village Agro-Business Units.
This means that every village, of the 35 000 that exist in the country, will soon become a registered company with villagers owning shares in agricultural business that will ensure they get enough food, and some money after selling the farming products.
The Village Agro-Business Units will, without doubt, contribute to ensuring food security at the household level.
The scheme targets to drill 35 000 solar-powered boreholes, one for each village, between 2021 and 2025.
With a borehole in each village, rural folks can know that issues of food security would have been addressed as they can set up irrigation schemes and do other agricultural activities because of the availability of water.
The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) develops the business case for the Village Agro-Business Units and assists in their registration as formal companies to be run on sound commercial lines using the local people.
On the other hand, the Agricultural Marketing Authority assists the business units in the identification of markets for their products, which also determines the crops they can viably produce.
On the other hand, ARDA recently completed a rebranding exercise to re-align its work with the developmental aspirations being pursued by the New Dispensation.
With the rebranding, and while not reinventing the wheel, ARDA made sure it was going back to basics, ensuring that it delivered on its refocused mandate to guarantee national food, feed, fibre and bio-fuels security.
On the whole, the objective is to empower people in rural areas to banish food insecurity.
ARDA has irrigation schemes that it intends to run as business units under the management of a resident scheme business manager.
Through these schemes, farmers become shareholders who get dividends once ARDA harvests and markets the produce.
Another important role for ARDA is the training of the farmers so that they adopt the best management practices.
Online Reporter