AS the curtain comes down on the 2014/2015 summer season, expectations were not met, but certainly it is not time to be pointing fingers, but time for stakeholders to take lessons and strategise for an improved 2015/2016 season.
“We look ahead to the next agricultural season, we hope for better rains and there will be a better state of preparedness,” were the words of President Robert Mugabe as he addressed thousands of people gathered to celebrate Independence Day last Saturday.
Indeed efforts should be channelled towards ensuring that come the next season, stakeholders are prepared to turn the fortunes of the sector around.
Agriculture remains one of the major contributors to economic growth alongside mining and construction.
Given this background, Government, the major stakeholder of the sector is putting in place measures to ensure the sector continues to grow.
A myriad of challenges including limited farmer support to finance the crop production in terms of inputs as most farmers lack collateral to borrow from the bank as well as tight liquidity constraints have been cited as major drawbacks.
Hopes for successful seasons in the past have been shattered by the shifting and shortened season.
President Robert Mugabe conceded that climate change was negatively affecting agriculture production.
“Fellow Zimbabweans, we have by now, learnt, albeit in a painful way, the true meaning of climate change,” he said.
“While the early rains had given us hope of a good harvest, as has persistently happened in previous years, I must say, many parts of the country, unfortunately succumbed to a prolonged dry spell, thus putting a large dent on our efforts to achieve national food security.”
The 2014/2015 rain season was arguably one of the shortest the country has ever experienced.
The rains started mid-December, two months later than the traditional start disrupting the cropping patterns.
As if that was not enough, less than three months after the rains started, the Meteorological Services Department announced that the rain season had ended.
To counter the effects of climate change, President Mugabe said Government would put in place irrigation policy.
“We require little persuasion, if any, to accept that we need to develop a national irrigation policy to counter the persistent droughts that are so frequent, and are clearly caused by climate change,” he said.
To ensure that small-holder farmers are equipped, President Mugabe said Government will launch a Farm Mechanisation Programme.
“Already, under the More-Food-For-Africa Programme, Government has acquired a vast array of agricultural equipment and tractors from Brazil, for use by smallholder farmers, on a cost recovery basis,” he said.
“The programme, which is promising to be the largest mechanisation programme by Government so far, shall be launched soon.
“This thrust should be complemented by measures to reduce the cost of local inputs, especially fertiliser, in order to render local agricultural production more competitive.”
In the past, small and large scale farmers benefitted from two phases of the Farm Mechanisation Programme implemented by the Government.
Players in the sector have welcomed the efforts by Government to ensure its growth.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Wonder Chabikwa commended Government for its efforts and continued support rendered to farmers.
“It is a welcome development that Government is putting in place measures to ensure that the coming summer seasons are a success,” he said.
“The Farm Mechanisation programme will help in the transition by small holder farmers from using human labour to adopting the use of machinery.
“What we believe to be small-holder farmers are those with 100 hectares and below so we hope these are the ones that will be targeted by this programme.”
Chabikwa urged Government to consult with farmers unions on such programmes.
“With the past we (unions) were not involved yet we have a big part to play; we talk to the farmers and know the number that needs assistance,” he said.
“We can help mobilise the farmers into clusters so that they can share the resources as most of the times the equipment under the programmes will not be able to cover everyone.”
Apart from equipping the farmers with machinery Government through the ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement will soon embark on a national land audit.
The audit will pave way for the distribution of land to the indigenes.
It will also address issues such as that of land disputes, cases of multiple farm ownership, account for land that is being underutilised as well as investigate reports that some resettled farmers were leasing out their farms to former white former commercial farmers. The finalisation of the land audit is expected to aid the growth of the agricultural sector.