THERE is always something compelling, compulsive, about the farming season.
It gravitates towards the land that lies idle, waiting to be turned over and provide relief to an expectant nation.
The excitement, sometimes fear, grips the farmer.
There is the uncertainty.
Sometimes the air becomes uneasy.
So many questions, too, arise.
Will there be enough rains this season?
If there are those rains, will they last?
Will there be enough inputs?
Will there be enough money to buy those inputs?
Still the promise of good rains lingers.
With it signalling the prospects of a potentially successful season.
Still that air grips us.
The trees begin to turn into a different colour, the colour of life. Then we all begin to know that it is that time again.
We all know that the season of prosperity once again beckons. We become seized with the fact that the period of hard work is now upon us.
This is why, at the core of our politics and very existence as Zimbabweans, is the land issue. This is also why, we remain armed with the knowledge that this land did not come on a silver platter.
And this is a message that we keep on broadcasting to our people. A message that forms the very founding principles and values of our struggle.
It is a message of posterity; a message of to whom this enduring legacy will be bequeathed.
This land did not come on a silver platter. It was fought for. And the only way to honour those who sacrificed for this asset is through making it productive.
It is in light of this view that the forthcoming summer cropping season must deliver tangible results. It must be about production.
It must be about giving those who till the land a lifeline.
The farmers must realise benefits from their hard work.
They must enjoy the full benefits of the struggle.
I am particularly encouraged by the good news that is coming from the Meteorological Services Department.
They have indicated that the country will receive normal (to below normal) rainfalls.
These rains must be harnessed for maximum productivity.
They must be used for irrigation purposes.
The announcement by Government that it plans to mechanise at least three million hectares of land feeds directly into its thrust of prioritising production.
That programme must be extended to irrigation schemes that are lying idle across the country, underutilised and forgotten.
Those schemes must be revived and capacitated so that we produce more for the country. The same applies to the vast tracts of land that are under the ambit of ARDA.
These alone can feed the whole nation while boosting our exports.
Serious funding must be injected into those farms so that they can also create employment and bring forth the much needed financial relief to treasury.
Communal farmers must never be forgotten as well.
These have, time and again, rescued the country from hunger.
They, too, deserve support.
As we make preparations for the forthcoming season, let us bear in mind that it is from this land that we get life.