Celebrating economic liberation through agric
N April 18, Zimbabwe celebrates 39 years of independence from British rule. Indigenous farmers, who all along had been restricted and confined to rocky and infertile land by the settlers, will also be celebrating the economic emancipation brought about through the fast tracked land reform of 2000, a consequence of the liberation struggle.
Before Independence, more than 6 000 white farmers occupied more than 15,5 million hectares of agricultural land, while millions of indigenous farmers squatted on 1,4 million hectares.
Through the fast-tracked land reform, about 300 000 households benefited and now produce crops which used to be a preserve of the elite tobacco,sugarcane, horticultural crops and fruits.
Flue-cured tobacco, once the preserve of white commercial farmers, is arguably one of the success stories of agriculture in the post-fast track land reform programme.
Last year, a record of 252 million kilogrammes were delivered by farmers to the auction floors, compared to the previous highest record of 231 million kilogrammes in 2000.
This is a significant achievement for the country’s economy.
There has also been an increase in the number of women farmers that have gone into tobacco production.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) says the tobacco industry now has more than 172 400 registered growers.
Of these, 162 505 of them are from the communal, A1 and A2 resettlement areas.
A majority of tobacco growers now boast acquiring farm machinery and an improved lifestyle.
Tobacco has earned a strategic position in the economy because of its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product and foreign currency earnings.
Zimbabwe has become the major flue-cured tobacco producer in Africa and occupies fifth position in the world after many communal farmers joined the lucrative farming sector following the land reform programme.
Government has also come up with various programmes to empower farmers to improve productivity and the general well-being of farmers.
Government introduced a 99-year lease HE foreign policy trajectory of the Second Republic, which this writer has coined EDiplomacy, deserves due credit. This new foreign policy objective is centred on good neighbourliness, reflecting a positive image on Zimbabwe and gaining strategic partnerships.
Thus, Zimbabwe has taken a stand in matters related to the Saharawi people, strengthened her voice in regional blocks such as Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the African Union (AU).
Internationally, Zimbabwe revamped its participation at the United Nations (UN) and other strategic platforms. Despite all this, critics laments the high costs associated with these diplomatic expeditions citing resource prioritisation issues. However, are critics of our diplomatic strategy justified in their reasoning?
Are there any alternative methodologies of conducting diplomacy apart from sending emissaries? In all fairness, are these diplomatic efforts without gains? Observing accomplished diplomats such as Henry Kissinger of the United States, British’s Winston Churchill, Otto Von Bismarck of Germany, South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika could provide some insights into the world of diplomacy.
It has always been the art of diplomacy to send emissaries around the globe in pursuance of national interests. Depending on the urgency, it is acceptable for the head of state to lead diplomatic efforts. Former South African Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki for resettled A2 farmers and continues to work on the document to make it bankable so that farmers can use it to access funding.
The Presidential Inputs Scheme and Special Maize for Import Substitution Programme, popularly known as Command Agriculture were also introduced to assist farmers with inputs.
Farmers were facing challenges to fund agriculture as banks were offering shortterm loans at high interest rates, while other financial institutions demanded collateral, which most farmers did not have.
The intervention by Government through Command Agriculture, the Presidential Inputs Scheme and the hard work of self-financed farmers has resulted in the country shelving grain imports.
The programme, which started with maize, was spread to wheat and livestock.
Command Livestock programme saw farmers benefiting from the distribution of beef and dairy cows, dairy cattle, pigs, goats, sheep and poultry.
In 2018, the Government’s Command Livestock projects performed beyond expectation and some farmers who had ventured in poultry production are already realising profits.
Government also introduced Command Fisheries as it stepped up efforts to transform rural communities and increase use of water bodies. The programme is also expected to improve the diets and nutrition of people in communal areas as they will have access to cheap protein.
Government has so far distributed millions of fish fingerlings countrywide under the Command Fisheries programme.
Although farmers have had access to fertile land, climate change has brought some challenges with it.
The country has been experiencing consecutive droughts impacting negatively on production.
It is against this background that Government has come up with several programmes to boost agricultural productivity by enhancing the irrigation capacity of most farmers that have access to water bodies.
It is Government’s desire to see the country’s farms becoming more productive and cost efficient, with an irrigable expanded maize crop area minimum of at least 300 000 hectares.
Since Independence, Government has come up with programmes to promote agricultural productivity as a way of ensuring food security as well as improving the standard of living of people.
The Command Water Harvesting Programme was launched last year to improve communities’ access to water through the construction of weirs, repair of small dams, de-silting of communal dams as well as the drilling of boreholes.
The weirs and small dams will allow for the storage of water during summer for use during the dry season.
The water is expected to be used for irrigating fields, filling dip tanks, consumption by livestock as well as meeting other communal domestic requirements.
The Command Water Harvesting Programme is expected to boost both water and food security for the beneficiary communities.
Government is also working on developing 200 hectares of irrigation per every district to boost productivity, ensure national food and nutrition security, with the nation retaining its status as the breadbasket of Africa.