Wisdom is better than silver and gold

the beginning of time, man has always been inquisitively fascinated by dreams.

WHILE he has had the intellect and instruments to explore the world yonder, he has made efforts to fully understand both the mechanics and inner workings of dreams.

To try and interpret them, some turn to science, while others believe in diviners.

However one would want to describe them, dreams are clearly a door or staircase to the celestial world, connecting the living to the world beyond.

In the holy book, the Bible, we find the story of Daniel, a young Jew who grew up in captivity in Babylon, but was later exalted after both divining and interpreting the unsettling dream that had greatly distressed King Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel, through God’s grace, was to be known as a wise man who could interpret dreams and visions.

All in all, they say there are 21 dreams recorded in the Bible, most of which are in the Old Testament.

Only six are reported to be in the New Testament, of which four were to the same person — Joseph.

And in all he did — taking Mary as his wife, although she was already with child; fleeing to Egypt and returning after Herod had died to save a marked young Jesus’ life — Joseph was guided by God every step of the way through his dreams.

But scientists would have us believe that dreams are a fantastical creation of our subconscious mind.

Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, famed for founding the theory of psychoanalysis, did some penetrative work through his seminal book “The Interpretation of Dreams”, which was published in 1899.

It was premised on the supposition that dreams inherently provided an insight into an individual’s unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations.

In essence, the scientist concluded that dreams were a form of “wish fulfilment”.

But how then do we explain dreams that come to pass or nightmares?

Surely, they cannot be part of our desires, thoughts and motivations.

Since time immemorial, our people have always been reading dreams to foretell fortunes, tragedies and the future.

They knew, for example, that if they dreamt of green mealies, it meant good fortune, while dreams of a wedding often

Conservation farming and irrigation expansion will make a huge difference in the coming two years. Above: Green mealies have become a cash cow for Silalatshani irrigation farmers in Matabeleland South portended a future macabre event.

Even those who used to bet on horses would sometimes rely on symbols from their dreams.

However, the mysticism and science behind dreams are not mutually exclusive, for they can be inextricably linked.

Just as there are immutable facts of science, there are also unexplained or inexplicable mysteries of the world that can only be understood after revelations from God.

You see, sometimes reality can be so surreal like a dream or nightmare, while, conversely, a dream or nightmare can feel so incredibly real.

So, one can either live the dream or live a nightmare.

Living a nightmare

Earlier this year, when we were blessed with incessant rains, we thought the scientists who were warning that we would most likely get below-normal rains in the current cropping season were either wrong or bonkers, or both.

But this month’s prolonged dry spell, which continued last week with the sweltering heat sucking the life out of severely stressed and withering crops, has since brought us down to earth.

The sight and images of spike-eared maize crops crumbling under the overbearing heat seem so surreal as episodes from an unwanted dream.

Well, no matter how much we pray or wish it away, the immutable fact of climate change is now real.

We are now living a nightmare because of the imminent El Niño-induced drought.

Over the past few years, drought episodes have been increasing in both regularity and intensity.

We must not forget that the 2015/2016 summer cropping season was affected by the same weather phenomenon, which cut our maize output to a pitiable 512 000 tonnes, resulting in the authorities declaring a state of disaster.

As if that was not enough, we were again buffeted by the worst drought in 40 years (since 1979) in the 2019/2020 season.

And who can forget the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in March 2019, which was the worst weather-related disaster to affect the Southern Hemisphere?

So, just as in 2015/2016, the likely outturn of the current El Niño-plagued season is now apparent.

In an advisory on November 8 last year, the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network indicated that “deficit-producing areas of Zimbabwe, southern Malawi, southern and central Mozambique, and southern Madagascar are of highest concern”.

Essentially, it appears the speculation that swirled at the beginning of the year that the El Niño was dissipating, and was seemingly given credence by the generous rains, was a willed reality driven by our subconscious mind.

Wisdom is better than gold

Proverbs 3: 13-18 carries an invaluable lesson.

It says: “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

“Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.”

Even before assuming the reins, President ED had already begun the crusade to wean the country from rain-fed agriculture to guarantee national food security.

His plan is to put 350 000 hectares under irrigation by the end of next year, which will guarantee an estimated 1,8 million tonnes of grain every year, notwithstanding the rainfall patterns.

Being the visionary and doer that he is, rarely does a month passes in Zimbabwe without either a new or rehabilitated scheme being commissioned by his administration.

We must, therefore, double down on irrigation expansion to ensure that we meet the target we have set for ourselves.

The Government is so serious and determined about getting irrigation technology and equipment to drive the ongoing programmes that the issue not surprisingly came up during VP Chiwenga’s engagement with Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Tatarstan, a republic of the Russian Federation, last week.

But national food security does not necessarily translate to food security at the household level.

Communities in rural areas will always rely on rain, and this necessarily means they have to heed calls to switch to conservation farming methods, which make maximum use of available moisture and markedly boost yields per unit area.

Speaking to some sceptics, even educated ones for that matter, one would think this recommended farming method — known locally as Pfumvudza/Intwasa — is an ancient method that is being foisted on hapless people by a desperate and clueless Government.

Yet it is the brainchild of 81-year-old Zimbabwean-born Brian Oldreive, a Christian who is convinced that it was a revelation from God since it mimics nature.

As Bishop Lazi said earlier, science and mysticism are not mutually exclusive.

At its core, Pfumvudza/Intwasa is thoroughly scientific as it hinges on empiricism. Oldreive says while walking in the forest in 1984, he noticed that the trees and bushes there grew just fine without the help from humans, plowing or irrigation. He critically observed two things. First, the ground was covered with a thick layer of leaves and other debris, which formed a natural mulch, and beneath this mulch layer, the soil was moist, particularly at a time when the area was experiencing drought.

Secondly, the undisturbed mulch layer naturally decayed to return nutrients to the soil.

Pfumvudza/Intwasa uses the same principle, and this is why he called it “farming God’s way”.

Most importantly, he used the conservation farming technique at his two-hectare plot in Matepatepa, Bindura, Mashonaland Central province, from where he was able to harvest 10 tonnes of grain per hectare.

It was an incredible, if not miraculous, feat, as the average yield at the time ranged between 500 kilogrammes and one tonne per hectare.

And Pfumvudza/Intwasa has since spread to other countries on the continent.

So, these twin programmes — conservation farming and irrigation expansion — will make a huge difference in the coming two years.

Although agricultural output will naturally be reduced this year for obvious reasons, the continued increase in land under irrigation, as well as adoption of conservation farming, will temper the decline.

We are on the right track, thanks to wise leadership. Clearly, hopes and wishes are not a strategy.

Bishop out!