adminFortious Nhambura
Yes, the rainfall that was received recently was erratic and it affected production in some areas but this should not be used as an excuse for not producing enough maize to stock up the Strategic Grain Reserves and even export the surplus.
Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of Southern Africa and was a net exporter instead of the net importer it has become.
While there are many reasons for this, the fact remains that it is unforgivable for Zimbabwe to continue spending millions on maize imports when land reform opened up farming land to thousands of hitherto landless people.
Importation of any other crop can be excused but not maize! It is a fact that Zimbabweans are inherently farmers and that communal and small-scale farmers have always produced the bulk of maize, even when the farming landscape was dominated by white former commercial farmers. So, maize production is not a new ball game altogether!
The parcelling out of land to nearly 300 000 families under land reform meant that, barring drought and other problems associated with the procurement of crop inputs and machinery and equipment because of the illegal sanctions, crop output was generally expected to increase dramatically.
Today, maize production has tumbled massively because most farmers have shifted to cash crops such as tobacco and soyabeans. The shift from maize to other crops has largely been ignited by the failure of the Grain Marketing Board, which is the buyer of last resort, to pay in time for deliveries. Consequently farmers have failed to go back to the field.
The decline in maize production cannot be faulted on land reform as opponents of the programme always want to portray, but largely on he GMB’s failure to pay farmers in time.
Farmers have genuine reasons why they prefer selling to the GMB instead of private buyers. The GMB offers a higher price but does not pay whereas private buyers offer low prices but they pay. It is common knowledge that farming is a business, where every farmer is not only worried about breaking even but making a profit.
The profit can easily be realised by selling the crop to the GMB which pays more than to private buyers whose biggest motivation is to rip off the farmers. And to say the GMB has failed farmers would be a serious understatement because it has done worse than that.
The GMB is the reason the country is importing maize from Zambia and South Africa. It has decimated all the confidence farmers had in it, and as a result there is a huge flight of farmers from maize to cash crops. Interestingly, the GMB does realise it has caused enormous damage to national food security and is quick to blame Treasury for the delay in paying farmers.
The GMB management wants the blame put on the Treasury. But, to farmers out there, the animal responsible for their problems is the GMB and not Treasury. Farmers do not deliver maize to Treasury but to GMB depots scattered across the country.
If the GMB management is unable to make Treasury understand the importance of prompt payments to farmers, then it has no business being at the parastatal. It should be able to convince Treasury to release funds early to pay farmers as food security matters are national security matters. This is precisely the reason why there have been suggestions by some analysts that the GMB had, in fact, become enemy of land reform. While all this has been happening, the big question is where is the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development? What is happening at the GMB should seriously concern the parent ministry. Media reports say GMB owes farmers US$6 million, an indication that the parastatal is incapable of serving its important client. The SGR is currently in a pathetic state, thanks to the GMB’s inability to craft strategies to boost maize production. Other companies in the agricultural sector have come up with contract schemes and these have worked very well, in fact contract farming is the reason there has been a massive rebound in tobacco production.
In 1996 GMB introduced income generating projects to sustain its operations under its commercialisation and diversification programme.
It launched the Silo brand, for which it was selling maize meal, bread, rice to name a few. Only a couple of years ago there was talk of opening stock feed plant in Norton. It was hoped that these commercial operations would generate the much-needed revenue for the parastatal. The revenue would have allowed the GMB to easily go into maize contract farming but this has not been the case. We wonder what has become of its commercial operations that were expected to generate the much-needed revenue! When the media highlights these issues, the GMB management presses the defensive button and accuses journalists of having an agenda instead of looking themselves in the mirror and work on correcting their managerial shortcomings.
Zimbabwe cannot afford to entrust its food in the hands of other countries. With the West angling for an opportunity to destabilise the country and prove the futility of the land reform, food security can be used as a window to manipulate events in Zimbabwe.
The 1998 -99 food riots are a case in point and GMB is playing the country into the hands of its foes. There is also no guarantee that there will always be enough grain reserves in neighbouring countries to feed Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter