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Elton Manguwo
THE orthodoxy emerging from the country’s developmental strategies is that rural economies can be built around agriculture, whereupon they will serve as sweet spots of employment opportunities for millions of young people who will not migrate to urban areas but stay to utilise locally available resources to earn a living and create employment for others.
Anchored around the concept that farming is a business on its own, the Second Republic’s decision to invest in the youth demographics’ participation in agriculture is an endorsement of their important role in the processes of transformation and the push to seamlessly replace the ageing crop of farmers with young blood expected to take the country’s agriculture into the future.
It was therefore not a mistake that President Mnangagwa immediately adopted policies to attract the young and educated to farming after taking the reins of power in November 2017.
Today, the country’s agriculture is on an upswing with young people largely credited with being the driving force behind that forward movement.
At least 57 per cent of Zimbabwean women between ages 20 and 31 and 47 percent of men in the same age bracket also involved in growing different food and cash crops, as well as livestock programmes with their sights trained on the dollar sign at the end of every season.
The Government’s subsidy programme
Pfumvudza/Intwasa immediately became the game- changer leveraging sustainability farming techniques to “make the most of small pieces of land,” which the youths are keen to benefit from.
These include ways of dealing with droughts by means of drought-resistant seed, more sustainable irrigation methods and planting species suitable for drier conditions.
The Government’s move to integrate youths into sustainable development processes is therefore a crucial step in the process towards achieving the national goals as envisioned in Vision 2030, which advocates the laying of a foundation for a middle income economy supported by agriculture and other sectors like mining and tourism.
The road to Vision 2030 underscores the need to include young women and men as “critical agents of change” and promises to leave no-one behind and will provide youths with a nurturing environment for the full realisation of their capabilities, as they contribute to the country’s economic prosperity.
When President Mnangagwa officiated at the launch of the Provincial youth incubation hubs, he observed that youths’ participation in agricultural production was a critical aspect of their empowerment and involvement in the mainstream economy that is incidentally agro- based.
The Government introduced programmes such as the Presidential 10-hectare scheme, Provincial incubation hubs, Presidential Youth heifer scheme and Youth capacity building training among others.
“We are calling upon the young people to participate in agriculture, as primary production remains a key aspect in economic development. The youths must take advantage of the sound agribusiness environment in the country,” said President Mnangagwa.
Increasing youth agriculture participation The Government formed the youth desk within the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to come up with programmes tailored to increase the number of young farmers and value chain players in the agriculture sector.
The youth desk has made significant strides in growing youth participation in agriculture as to date more than 5 000 young farmers have been trained on sustainable farming practices, the history of the agrarian reform, farming as business, financial literacy, value addition, crops and livestock production basics.
Recently the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Dr John Basera underlined the need for the integration of the 65 percent youth demography into agriculture stressing how youths’ familiarity with modern technology was critical for innovation in the sector.
“Youths’ engagement in agriculture continues to be an important aspect of the country’s development as they bring in fresh energy and skills for maximum production and growth of the agriculture sector,” said Dr Basera.
Land Allocation Testament to the empowerment drive, 60 youths from Matabeleland South have since received A2 permits under the first batch of the Presidential 10-hectare scheme out of a targeted 150 youths.
Similarly, 24 youth beneficiaries from a targeted 75 in Mashonaland West have also received A2 permits for their 10 hectare farms under the under the same programme.
Last year, the President stressed that land allocation to young people was central to the Governments empowerment drive.
He was speaking during the launch of the Presidential 10-hectare programme in the Midlands Province.
“Land provision to youths is a significant milestone in the country’s economic empowerment drive,” said
President Mnangagwa beneficiaries of the programme are eligible to benefit from other sub-programmes to ensure they effectively utilise the land.
Chief programmes coordinator with the agriculture desk Mr Nickros Kajengo also echoed the President’s sentiments saying the allocation of land to new young farmers was testament to Government’s efforts in youth empowerment through agriculture.
He was speaking during the handover ceremony of A2 permits, which was held in Chinhoyi early this month.
“The Government also created the 20 percent youth land allocation quota to enable them to break into full time farming.
The Government has deliberate initiatives to ensure that benefitting young farmers have access to capital and inputs,” said Mr Kajengo. One of the 60 youths from Insiza District in Matabeleland South Province who received land, Ms Lilian Mhlanga (28) had this to say: “I am excited.
I have just received land. I plan to venture into crop production, fish farming and rearing of livestock, which has always been my passion.
I will ensure that I fully utilise the land and maximise production as this will help me to sustain my family. As a beneficiary of this programme, I understand that I have to be productive, create employment and contribute towards food and nutritional security.”
Strategic youth business partnerships
In accordance with the President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s directive the youth desk forms strategic partnerships with both the private sector and development partners to enhance young farmers’ ability in agribusiness and thrust them into the commercial space, youths have done so in a development that is making it easier for them to perform productively.
The partnership between the Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that started in 2021 has since seen 976 young farmers from four rural provinces receiving financial and material support upon completion of a three-week training programme they underwent.
The programme is aimed at fast tracking youths’ participation in the agriculture sector to combat high levels of employment through employment and wealth creation.
“The programme has given birth to new agricultural enterprises, as the youths in the country have become actively involved in various value chains from the production to the processing or value addition phase,” said Mr Kajengo.
The youth desk is also coordinating various agricultural projects being funded by various development partners and intergovernmental agencies such as Green Jobs for rural employment by FAO and opportunities for rural youth employment by SNV.
More so, the Government partnered with Federation of Young Farmers Club of Zimbabwe (FYFCZ) to create agricultural district nodes to improve cooperation between young farmers as part of the agriculture transformation agenda.
To enhance youth agribusiness partnerships, the Government also established 2 400 youth for business (Y4B) centres, two in each rural ward.
Access to working capital The Government has strategically remodelled the capital sourcing environment through programmes such as CBZ Agro-yield and the Presidential input scheme Pfumvudza/Intwasa in a move that bolsters access to production and agriculture start-ups.
In a speech during the 10th Federation of Young Farmers Club of Zimbabwe (FYFCZ) awards ceremony last year, Lands Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka acknowledged the presence of corporates partnering with the FYFCZ in different parts of the agricultural value chains.
“I commend the foresight of private players such as Ecocash Holdings, Mangwana Capital, Agricultural Financial Cooperation (AFC) Holdings to engage with young farmers,” he said.
The Government has thrown its weight behind private sector’s engagement with young farmers saying the move was strategic and could propel the growth of the agriculture sector, as the country moves to reclaim its bread basket of Africa tag.
“As we address the need to transform the agriculture sector to be more business driven, the involvement of young farmers with private sector creates partnerships that accelerate the rate of adoption of businesspractices in farming,” said Dr Masuka.
Ushering in a new crop of farmers
The agriculture sector is considered strategic in terms of high employment opportunities, food security and import substitution amid climate change and global trade disruptions.
Therefore, the Government through several programmes is addressing the ageing farmer population in the country to guarantee continuity in agricultural production.
“The agriculture sector is highly dynamic and the shift to climate smart production methods has increased the labour intensiveness of production, therefore young farmers have better chances of success in such an environment,” Mr Kathryn once observed.
The average age of a farmer in the sub Saharan Africa including Zimbabwe is 55 years against a life expectancy average of between 55- 60 years.
The Government has also established climate smart agriculture institutions backed by the establishment of innovation hubs where young people are trained on sustainable agriculture and climate change.
In addition, the new agriculture education 5, 0 remains a key pillar in climate-proofing, water management and promoting knowledge and innovation in agriculture. The modules have provided a platform for Zimbabwe’s youths to gain critical knowledge necessary for contribution in climate change mitigation, agricultural transformation systems, food security and sustainable agricultural production.
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