The Sunday Mail
Dr John Basera
THE agriculture and water sectors’ contribution to the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and, indeed, Vision 2030 is guided by various sectoral and sub-sectoral plans, namely, the Agriculture Recovery Plan (2020-2024); the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy (2020-2024); the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (2020-2025); the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan (2020-2025); the Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Plan (2021-2026); and the Integrated Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS) (2020-2025), among others. These blueprints are aimed at engendering an inclusive agricultural transformation that achieves the following outcomes:
Food security;
Import substitution;
Diversified exports;
Enhanced value addition;
Employment creation; and
Improved incomes and standards of living in line with Vision 2030.
Key performance highlights
Crops production sub-sector
The climate-proofing agenda is a top priority for the ministry. As such, a deliberate stance to promote growing of crop varieties that best suit a particular agro-ecological region ensued in 2022.
This approach resulted in a general year-on-year increase in hectarage under traditional grains as follows: total hectarage under traditional grains (sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, groundnut, sunflower, bambara nuts and African pea) increased by 27 percent from 1 008 758ha in 2021 to 1 282 379ha in 2022.
Hectarage under maize increased by 3 percent from 1,90 million ha in 2021 to 1,96 million ha in 2022. This season, farmers are projected to produce over 3,2 million tonnes of cereals against a national annual requirement of 2,2 million tonnes.
The nation was food secure in 2022 on account of 1 557 915 tonnes of maize, 194 100 tonnes of traditional grains and over 537 000 tonnes carried over in the Strategic Grain Reserve as at April 30, 2022. A total of 2 274 927 tonnes of cereals was available for 2022 against a national annual requirement of 2 200 000 tonnes, leaving a surplus of almost 100 000 tonnes.
Generally, due to the religious implementation of the strategic programmes in the Agriculture Recovery and Growth Plan and other blueprints, the area under strategic crops increased by 8 percent to 3 674 149ha in 2022 from 3 387 038ha achieved in 2021. Hectarage under horticultural production increased by 4,6 percent to 119 000ha in 2022 from 113 000ha in 2021.
The horticulture sector is expanding, given the commitment by Government and the subsequent successful establishment and implementation by the ministry of the US$30 million Horticulture Export Revolving Fund, which is administered by commercial banks, where horticulture exporters get facilities to support primary production for exports. A specific example is blueberry production, which surged by 34 percent from 3 500 tonnes in 2021 to 4 700 tonnes in 2022. This jump subsists across other horticultural sub-sectors, thanks to the religious implementation by the ministry of the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan, which was launched in 2021. Further, to entrench agricultural transformation and rural development, the ministry, in 2021, launched the concept of one farmer field school (FFS) per village.
To date, FFSs have been established in 23 000 villages, out of the 35 000 villages. These are centres of excellence at sub-national level, where farmers are trained on good agricultural practices, conservation agriculture (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) techniques, taking farming as a business and general crop and animal husbandry practices.
The climate-proofed Presidential Input Programme (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) for vulnerable farming households targeting maize, traditional grains and cotton was executed well, with farmers adopting the conservation agriculture principles, countrywide.
The countrywide adoption of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa concept, which entails adoption of conservation agriculture techniques from the 2020/2021 season, has seen maize productivity levels increasing by over 280 percent to a national average of 1,4 tonnes per hectare from 0,5 tonnes per hectare prior.
The Pfumvudza/Intwasa model earned Africa-wide recognition at the Dakar 2 Feed Africa Summit held in January, 2023, as a home-made initiative to climate-proof food production at household level and attain food self-sufficiency, to be replicated across Africa.
This was after the successful implementation of this game-changing innovation in Zimbabwe from the 2020/2021 season to date. In 2022, the area under wheat jumped by 22 percent from 66 434ha in 2021 to 80 883ha.
Wheat output increased by 25 percent from over 300 000 tonnes in 2021 to 375 000 tonnes in 2022, against a national annual requirement of 360 000 tonnes, leaving a surplus of over 15 000 tonnes. The country produced 13 months’ supply of wheat, which is a record since the beginning of production of the cereal in Zimbabwe in the 1960s. The ministry put in place measures to promote import substitution by crowding in the participation of the private sector in the primary production of strategic agricultural commodities such as maize, wheat and soya beans.
The stance entails compelling all users/off-takers of agricultural commodities to produce at least 40 percent of their respective annual requirements locally by supporting the local farmer through frameworks such as joint ventures and contract farming.
Private sector participation in food production has resulted in the country attaining food security, with a slant towards food self-sufficiency. It has also resulted in positive spin-offs in employment creation (downstream and upstream), increased raw materials supply to industry and import substitution, ending up in big savings in foreign currency.
A framework of crowding in the participation of banks in supporting local primary production was consummated under the banner National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme (NEAPS) and rolled out in the 2021/2022 season. This saw banks and the private sector making a combined contribution of 85 percent (close to 70 000ha) of the record wheat planted in 2022.
This trend also subsists across other sub-sectors in the food production sector. Tobacco output grew marginally by 1 percent from 211 100 219kg produced during the 2020/2021 production season to 212 711 370kg (from lesser hectarage) in the 2021/2022 season. Income/revenue to farmers increased by 10 percent from $589 573 827 to $650 308 524 in the 2021/2022 season, increasing the country’s chances of achieving the objectives of Vision 2030 much earlier and much faster. The hectarage under tobacco increased by 19 percent to 131 656ha in 2022, compared to 110 770ha achieved in 2021, thanks to the religious implementation of key programmes in the Tobacco Transformation Strategy (TTS) launched in 2021.
Livestock production sub-sector
Livestock production is on the rise after interventions rolled out by the ministry to reduce the prevalence of diseases, as enshrined in the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan. The Veterinary Field School (VFS) concept for every dip tank was introduced and to date, 5 000 VFSs have been established across the country. The ministry rolled out the Presidential Tick Grease Programme, targeting over 1 million households, each supported with between 1kg and 3kg of tick grease.
Further, an intensive dipping programme implemented throughout the country. These efforts saw a sharp reduction in the January disease and other tick-borne-related diseases outbreaks and deaths of 37 percent in 2022. Generally, cattle mortalities decreased by 3 percent from 8,86 percent in 2021 to 6 percent in 2022. We expect this to decrease to below 6 percent by the year 2025.
This was as a result of the successful implementation of the flagship home-made innovations such as the Presidential Tick Grease Programme, the Intensive Dipping Programme and the Dip Tank Resuscitation Programme.
There was year-on-year growth in the livestock sub-sector as follows: cattle (5,6 million in 2022 from 5,5 million in 2021), goats (4,3 million in 2021 to 4,9 million in 2022), sheep (710 226 in 2021 to 728 245 in 2022) and pigs (314 335 in 2021 to 339 644 in 2022). The ministry adopted a zero tolerance on the foot and mouth disease (FMD), and went on a blitz to minimise illegal movement of livestock. As such, FMD outbreaks for 2022 were contained to below 8 percent, against a target of less than 12 percent for the same period.
To enhance the efforts in the fight against tick-borne diseases, the ministry is rolling out a programme to support and promote the local production of animal medicines for import substitution.
This programme is envisaged to see a reduction in the cost of dipping chemicals by 52 percent. Overall, the national beef cattle herd grew by 2 percent from 5 509 983 in 2021 to 5 642 400 in 2022. The Government facilitated and rolled out a commercial silage production programme that was administered by banks and supported over 5 000ha of maize silage. This programme, which sought to address the viability challenges emanating from high feed costs bedevilling the commercial dairy sector, propelled the sub-sector to a strong rebound. Targeting the smallholder dairy sub-sector, the ministry rolled out the Presidential Silage Programme and supported over 1 500 farmers with a standard 1ha silage input package. All these innovative interventions resulted in the national dairy herd growing by 11,3 percent from 47 825 in 2021 to 53 250 in 2022, while the milking herd grew to 35 100 cows in 2022 from 31 524. Total milk production increased by 15 percent from 79,6 million litres in 2021 to 91,4 million litres in 2022.
Total milk powder imports dropped by almost 20 percent from 8,9 million kg in 2021 to 7,4 million kg in 2022.
Levies on milk and milk products imports were channelled through the Dairy Development Fund for the expansion of the dairy herd.
Mechanisation development thrust
The ministry is on a drive to increase the mechanisation capacity and capabilities across all farming sectors.
The target for 2022 was to distribute 1 500 units of equipment and implements. By December 2022, a total of 1 641 units had been distributed (John Deere, 209), local manufacture (243 units) and Belarus (1 189 tractors and combine harvesters). The ministry formed the Mechanisation Development Alliance to galvanise public and private sector efforts to close the farming mechanisation gap.
Under the Mechanisation Development Alliance, the ministry signed up for mechanisation facilities worth over US$200 million wherein Government will facilitate the importation of equipment from several sources for onward distribution to farmers by commercial banks. Over 4 400 tractors will be imported under these facilities.
All the mechanisation development programmes follow a model wherein they are Government facilitated and private sector-led to increase the levels of accountability. For the communal and smallholder sub-sectors, the ministry launched the Smallholder Mechanisation Programme in 2022, distributing 600 kits comprising two-wheeler tractors and attachments, as well as implements. The current efforts in mechanisation targets to up-scale production efficiencies and competitiveness of the agriculture sector.
Irrigation development for climate change adaptation
The ministry is focusing on and promoting accelerated irrigation rehabilitation and development to de-risk and climate proof the agriculture sector, which is vulnerable to climate shocks.
The total functional irrigating area is over 193 000ha as at December, 2022, up from 174 000ha in 2021, with a total of over 19 000ha rehabilitated and developed in 2022. This was against a target of 9 000ha for the period under review.
The ministry was allocated $9 billion against a bid of $21 billion in 2022 and, hence, facilitated the formation of the Irrigation Development Alliance (IDA), comprising all private sector stakeholders in the irrigation development sub-sector, to crowd in the private sector in the irrigation development and climate proofing thrust. The target is to have at least 350 000ha by the year 2025. So far, various proposals under IDA amounting to 100 000ha have been consummated for implementation in 2023.
Dam construction-climate proofing agenda
Pursuant to the climate proofing thrust, the Government, in the new dispensation, embarked on water harvesting and dam construction programming. All new dam construction projects are expected to cater for five elements, namely, the dam, hydropower, fisheries, irrigation development and portable water development for communities.
All current dam projects have had their scope expanded accordingly.
This strategic policy shift will see all dams constructed being put to immediate use at commissioning, unlike in the past where completed dams would be idle, for example, Lake Tugwi-Mukosi.
Currently, Government, through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), is working on 12 dam and water projects. The two dams which were targeted for completion in 2022 are Gwayi-Shangani and Chivhu.
Chivhu Dam
The dam is now at 99,9 percent completion level, pending commissioning by His Excellency, the President, Dr E.D. Mnangagwa. A total of 120ha for irrigation have been developed. Water conveyancing to Chivhu town is underway and almost 80 percent complete as at November 31, 2022.
Lake Gwayi-Shangani
Major works are now complete, but, overall, the project is currently at 73 percent; that is to say, there are some outstanding works constituting the spillway, the 254km water conveyancing pipeline to Bulawayo, (and) irrigation infrastructure for the greenbelt along the pipeline are all underway. It is planned that the project will be commissioned by December 2023, funds permitting.
Security of tenure and land utilisation
Highly securitised A2 permits are now being issued in place of offer letters.
Farmers are no longer expected to apply for 99-year leases, instead, the annual production and productivity returns now form the basis for assessment and issuance of 99-year leases.
A total of 1 967 permits were issued against a target of 1 000 in 2022.
A total of 600 joint venture (JV) agreements for over 100 000ha of land were processed against a target of 557 in 2022.
Cumulatively, over 2 000 JVs have been processed for over 200 000ha of land since 2020 to date. An investor match-making platform was created, where landholders with limited resource endowments seek and find investors, leading to the consummation of joint venture agreements between the parties. This innovative intervention has contributed significantly to the increase in land utilisation and, as such, the area under strategic crops increased year-on-year by 8 percent and horticultural crops by 4,6 percent from 2021 to 2022.
Conclusion
At the centre of all these successes and the agriculture transformation journey in general, there is a motivated and capacitated team, especially the over 7 000 frontline extension officers who are the real transformation agents.
The ministry took a deliberate stance to capacitate and motorise all extension officers at two levels: physical motorisation and mind-set motorisation.
This is an important part of the agricultural extension capacitation thrust and the above successes could not have been achieved had this aspect not been addressed. All agricultural extension officers now have motorbikes and are undergoing online refresher courses every six months. The entire ministry programming takes cognisance of the cross-cutting imperatives such as inclusivity (gender sensitivity and youth participation), going up the value chain ladder, climate proofing and crowding in private sector participation in its scope of implementation. In the case of inclusivity, the ministry, in 2022, launched the Agric4She, which is a coordination platform that promotes women participation in economic agricultural activities.
This has seen women participation in flagship programmes such as Pfumvudza and command agriculture rising significantly. This effort is championed by the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa.
Dr John Basera is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
