The Sunday Mail
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Sunday Mail Correspondent
WHEN conflict broke out in Eastern Europe, one of the world’s major sources of grains, many countries around the world faced real possibilities of hunger.
Given this situation, and with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic that disrupted international agriculture supply chains, stellar interventions were required to avoid food shortages, and Zimbabwe rose to the challenge in spectacular fashion.
Import substitution
The Second Republic was quick off the blocks as the authorities moved with speed to avert any potential threat to the country’s food security. It started by harnessing all the energy towards facilitating adequate wheat production.
“I made a special appeal to our farmers, especially those on irrigated land, to double their efforts in growing wheat for national sufficiency,” wrote President Mnangagwa in a recent op-ed for The Sunday Mail.
“We could no longer count on imports from Eastern Europe, a region already embroiled in war. I made the call at very short notice.
“Yet our farmers rose to the occasion, mustering a response which is nothing short of miraculous.”
Zimbabwe has now surpassed its highest-ever wheat output since commercial production began in the 1960s.
As of November 25, farmers had delivered 326 687 tonnes of the cereal to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), representing close to 90 percent of the projected output of 380 000 tonnes.
Before this year’s milestone, record deliveries stood at 325 000 tonnes realised in 1990.
Comparatively, at the inception of the Second Republic, Zimbabwe produced only 30 000 tonnes of wheat, barely enough to meet national requirements for two months.
In the 2019/2020 season, wheat output rose to about 164 000 tonnes from about 44 000 hectares put under cultivation.
In the 2020/2021 season, output rose to nearly 300 000 tonnes from 67 000 hectares planted.
This year, production will surpass the country’s annual national requirement of about 360 000 tonnes.
Experts have attributed this historic
development to an array of targeted interventions in the agriculture sector by the Government.
Broadly, the Government’s plan to achieve this goal is premised on the twin strategy of mechanising agriculture and switching from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation. The Government has built more water bodies supported by modern irrigation systems.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Dr John Basera said Government was pulling out all the stops to ensure the sector is adequately financed.
“As a ministry and as a sector, we have agreed that we need to bounce back better, especially from a drop of about 43 percent in terms of food production. All dominoes are aligned for a successful season as Government is making concerted efforts to green-tick all the critical success factors.
“We have broken the wheat record, so we are eager to break more records,” said Dr Basera.
Budget support
When Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube presented the 2023 Budget recently, many were eager to see how this progressive strategy of support interventions for the sector would be rolled out in 2023.
In his Budget Statement, Prof Ncube
said the Government’s support to the agriculture sector had increased, and the authorities would continue on that trajectory.
“The various programmes and projects being undertaken by Government seek to promote production and productivity, build resilience to climatic shocks, transform agricultural activities into viable business enterprises, as well as reduce the import bill.
“The Government will continue to restructure the sector and strengthen existing agro-based value chains, increase domestic production of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs, as well as deepen the liberalisation of agricultural markets,” he said.
Treasury expects growth in agriculture to top 4 percent in 2023, before accelerating to 8,2 percent and 7,9 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Financing of various programmes by the Government has significantly improved.
For the 2022/2023 summer cropping season, the Government allocated $77 billion for the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Input Scheme, which is targeting 845 000 hectares to be put under cereal and oil seeds.
As at November 15, Government had spent $51,8 billion (US$74 million) on Pfumvudza inputs, comprising 9 398 tonnes of seed and 50 831 tonnes of fertilisers for 2022, which have already been distributed countrywide.
With the onset of the rains, the Government has put in place measures to expedite the distribution of inputs to farmers.
Farm mechanisation continues to be prioritised to increase production and productivity by smallholder farmers, hence the 2023 Budget allocated $11,8 billion to accelerate the process.
A further $40 billion was extended to enhance service delivery by extension service workers.
They play an important role in educating farmers through advisory services, which, in turn, increases production and productivity.
Extension service workers will be capacitated with mobility and communication systems in the form of vehicles, motor bikes and tablets to improve their conditions of service.
Their allocated portion will also be used to sharpen their skills to meet the changing needs of agriculture and food systems.
About $6,6 billion has been set aside for the construction and rehabilitation of dip-tanks, as well as surveillance and control of livestock diseases, which have resulted in the loss of a considerable number of animals, especially cattle.
The Government has also reserved $514,2 million for fencing the remaining 42 kilometres of the Gonarezhou National Park to combat outbreaks of diseases through animal movement and to also minimise human-wildlife conflict.
In addition, there is a US$154,6 million equivalent local currency guarantee to AFC Holdings to raise resources to finance the production of strategic crops, including maize, soyabean, sunflower and traditional grains.
Various programmes that promote productivity to ensure continued growth of the agriculture sector and, ultimately, reduce the country’s import bill have been undertaken.
As Dr Basera has said, “the smartest export is not importing what you can already produce”.
◆ Twitter: @RuzvidzoWallace
