NOW that the rain season is coming to a close Government must immediately embark on an intensive and comprehensive exercise to find out the harvest prospects.
Information to do with harvest prospects must come from Government as in the past we have been misinformed by institutions that have agendas that are far from serving the nation.
Finding out what and how much the nation will harvest is a serious exercise that authorities must undertake to prevent confusion and unnecessary noise that will divert attention from other pressing issues.
Of course, it is common knowledge that some farmers did not do so well as a result of shortages of inputs.
Some had their crop affected by heavy rains that literally washed away that which had been put in the ground while some had their crop scorched by the sun.
Our farmers are now seasoned producers and failure on their part was not because they went into the fields half-heartedly as an afterthought.
Mind, spirit and body together, they engaged the land, but they are not in control of the elements and the finances.
Thus some will not have anything to harvest.
We do not want non-governmental organisations (NGOS) to lead in the efforts to ensure that no one starves.
We are not saying we do not want them to be involved or to assist, we do not want them to lead the process; Government must.
We must be forgiven for not wanting this constituency, the NGOs, to lead, they have caused mayhem in the past, have distorted and misrepresented the facts not for the people but to suit their agendas.
Many of us have persistently followed the vision of empowerment on our pieces of land and it is unfortunate that we have not been spared by the vagaries of weather and challenges wrought by the illegal sanctions that have hamstrung the economy.
As Government begins to plan for responsive measures it must also intensify its work on resuscitating the country’s irrigation schemes.
With vast amounts of arable land and water sources in the form of dams on many farms the country must be in a position to carry out agricultural activities throughout the year without depending on rains.
We are obviously a daring people that have leapt across the abysses.
Our spirit must not be broken by setbacks.
The West has always been obsessed with ‘giving’, ‘assisting’ and ‘developing’ the rest of the world an obsession they like to call philanthropy.
However, we all know that the word philanthropy has been abused and distorted out of shape and now mean anything, but helping.
That is why we want Government to lead in averting hunger in the country, do not leave us at the mercy of these so-called philanthropists.
Is it out of sheer compassion or mercy?
Is it that they are so saintly and wish to help the suffering and alleviate poverty that they help?
The answer is a definite ‘No’.
As Zimbabweans, we might have our own problems, but we can go a long way in feeding and sustaining ourselves.
Let the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) pay farmers a good price for grain delivered and on time and we may find out that we have enough grain in the country that we will not need to import.
So huge is the number of our farmers that those that have done well can make up for those that failed to achieve their targets.
Even urban farmers are producing grain.