Command Agric: Monetising land redistribution

Command Agriculture is, potentially, the link between Zimbabwe’s land redistribution exercise and food self-sufficiency in so much as it has capacity to monetise the country’s vast arable land.

IT IS shaped in such a way that it becomes the bridge between the land redistribution exercise and food security. A few years ago Zimbabwe embarked on a land redistribution exercise which saw thousands of landless blacks benefitting from the exercise.

The idea to redistribute land was not in any way a vindictive initiative designed to disenfranchise a few white farmers who were controlling vast tracts of fertile arable land, but a programme to ensure that land is owned by several Zimbabweans despite colour or creed.

While the redistribution exercise was successful, there lacked a well coordinated formal programme that followed to monetise the land distributed to the new farmers.

There was no well structured follow up initiative designed to convert land into a bankable asset that can be used as security for capital raising.

Discussions to securitise land have so far not been concluded meaning that the country’s land resource cannot be used to borrow against it.

More importantly, there was no proper capacity development for the thousands of new farmers who had been settled on the land.

This saw a number of new farmers failing to perform, not because they wanted to hold land for speculative purposes but because they lacked capacity.

This capacity includes general farming commercial knowledge, equipment and machinery, finance and marketing expertise.

As a result, Zimbabwe’s agricultural production plummeted and the sector ceased to be a major contributor to the national economic cake

The question to ask therefore is; after land redistribution what next?

Command Agriculture introduced by Government is expected to fill this gap.

Command Agriculture seeks to ensure that Zimbabwe achieves self-sufficiency within three years and already more than 400 000 hectares of land throughout the country have been dedicated to grain production.

Over two million tonnes of grain are expected per season under Command Agriculture.

Farmers who are close to water bodies were first considered and received inputs under strict conditions. Because it is well structured and coordinated, Command Agriculture will come with a number of benefits to the country. Critically, Command Agriculture will ensure that financing of agriculture is spread across the country. Those farmers who lacked capacity in the form of implements and inputs have and will receive inputs from Government and its partners.

This will capacitate them to continue farming activities and in turn feed the national strategic coffers. Zimbabwe will never import grain again if by the grace of God the rains are favourable.

In short, Command Agriculture will monetise the land reform programme, turning the country’s vast tracts of land into a formidable resource.

It turns the whole of Zimbabwe into a bank.

Furthermore, Command Agriculture makes the land the economy.

This is done through giving capacity to many farmers in the countryside, in the process employing vast numbers who may have not been employed anywhere else due to the economic challenges the country is facing.

Capacitating the thousand farmers will ensure that economic activity is promoted in every corner of the economy.

This will ensure that those farmers who were not able to till the land they received during the land reform are able to exploit the national resource.

Another critical point to note is that for many years new farmers were struggling to access funding to invest on the plots and farms given to them.

A few who had access to finance received it a premium.

As a result of funding challenges some beneficiaries of the land reform chickened out and opted to just keep the land untilled.

But the way Command Agriculture has been shaped will most likely bring back some of these farmers.

The new concept comes with a number of benefits for both the public and private sectors.

As it looks at the food sufficiency process, Command Agriculture will help develop the food value chain in line with the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063.

The regional bloc is in the process of developing an Action Plan for the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063.

The bloc’s programme has identified nine priority sectors, namely, agro-food processing; fisheries; forestry (wood and wood products); textiles and garments; leather and leather products; processing of mineral (metallic and non-metallic) products (beneficiation); pharmaceuticals and chemicals; machinery and equipment; and services.

That Command Agriculture aims to guarantee primary raw materials for processing by agro processors makes the initiative key in the food value chain.

And this brings the corporate sector into the initiative.

The coming together of Government and the private sector in the development of the food value chain will turn agriculture into a formidable economic sector.

Also, this initiative presents an opportunity to develop the food value chain which requires the support of the public and private sectors.

The value chain starts from guaranteeing the farmers inputs and securing the market for their produce.

As such, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe has committed to uptake about 800 000 tonnes of maize from Command Agriculture.

Agro-processors require security of primary product for them to process.

Their businesses hinge on the availability of primary products which Command Agriculture seeks to ensure.

When the farmer is confident that there will be takers for their produce, it will encourage them to produce more while agro processors will increase capacity.

There is excess capacity in the maize milling subsection. Currently there are 24 maize milling companies with capacity to do 135 000 tonnes against demand of around 37 000 tonnes.

Exploiting the excess capacity will result in local companies exporting to external markets.

Therefore the private and public sector need to share roles so that farming, processing and distribution are guaranteed.

It is important that the food value chain has finally received coordinated attention from Government, the corporate sector and other stakeholders.

For a long time, Government and the corporate world have had separate initiatives on agriculture but rarely did a proper network been established.

But for an agro-based economy such coordination is mandatory not only for the good of the economy but also for growth in corporates bottom line.

Where an economy grows it is inevitable that companies connected to it reap handsome dividends.

While assessing capacity utilisation of agro processors in Bulawayo recently, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Food Security and Nutrition revealed how the private sector has adopted the initiative.

Agro processors are finding ways to marry their own initiatives to Command Agriculture.

As Vice President Mnangagwa said once agriculture takes off “it will affect entire economy with employment growing, technology advancing, among other benefits”.

Government should also consider giving Special Economic Zone status to some farming districts to encourage investment into agricultural infrastructure, road networks, schools, hospitals among other key development issues.

The other area that requires more attention has to do with extension officers.

Farming methods are fast changing with technological advancement. Therefore, extension officers should constantly be updated in terms of knowledge and technological exposure. The change in seasons due to the effect of climate change also requires induction for extension and agricultural officers.

Command Agriculture should encompass all such issues.

A programme with the potential to change the economic fortunes for Zimbabwe, Command Agriculture, requires constant updating to ensure that it is not overtaken by global developments. ◆ feedback: mwanawashe@gmail.com.