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Zimbabwe might have to take a cue from Zambia, which has ambitions of becoming the food basket of Southern Africa. The Southern African country has successfully revived its agricultural system.In the past, Zambia’s economy relied heavily on copper mining but the country is now one of the biggest maize producers in the region.
Since last year; Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe have imported maize from Zambia.
Zambian Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda is on record stating that the country managed to harvest 2,8 metric tonnes of maize during the 2015-16 season; a 9,7 percent increase on the 2,6 metric tonnes produced the previous season.
The Zambian government has come up with innovations that attract local and foreign investment into the agriculture and agro-processing industry.
Zambia’s tax regime has been friendly to the agricultural sector.
Players in the agricultural sector of this country are charged a 10 percent income tax rate as opposed to the other industries that are charged between 35 and 40 percent.
Loans are also offered at very low repayment rates.
The move has seemingly paid dividends as both local and foreign investors are taking an interest in farming.
Recently, Zambia struck a deal with South African farmers who will invest US$100 million in the country’s agriculture sector.
The country recently introduced a national Farming Block Development Plan which seeks to establish farming hubs where the farmers will not only engage themselves in agricultural production, but also agro-processing and marketing.
This model has been a resounding success.
Among some of the programmes are the Farmer Inputs Support Programme in which farmers are loaned inputs.
The farmers are also encouraged to diversify into other crops other than maize.
Serious efforts have been made to promote irrigation and mechanis- ation.
On another hand, Zimbabwean farmers struggle to get loans and when they access them, they will be charged interest rates ranging between 18 and 22 percent.
In other countries, farmers pay as little as 5 percent.
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