THERE is something beautiful about the Command Agriculture Programme.
It is a very important story.
One that has nothing to do with crops.
It is an allegory, telling so huge a story that many might miss its import.
This is an initiative that has spelt out who we are as a people and what we are capable of on our own.
This is a drive that has given life to both the land and the majority.
It has defined our past, shaped our present and strengthened our processes.
The programme has put an enduring marker on the psyche of every progressive Zimbabwean.
We are a people who cannot be bullied or cowed to submitting to the whims and demands of the West.
We are a self-respecting people.
Across the nation, lives have been changed.
It has demystified myths about the Land Reform Programme.
It has become the most visible blueprint for the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Programme.
I have been prompted to revisit the programme because of the half-a-billion dollars that Government will be availing for the 2017/2018 cropping season.
Command Agriculture is not a one-off programme as it is coming back much bigger.
While the programme has been a success, there are many things to be learnt and addressed as we go into the second phase of this noble initiative.
In the initial phase of implementation of the programme there were many unforeseen circumstances, things that were overlooked.
In the second phase we are wiser.
Like we have said elsewhere in the paper in the past weeks, there is need to look at the technical aspect of agriculture.
I believe that issues to do with irrigation, moisture content and production of viable seed varieties must be looked into closely.
The massive investments that we have made in the education sector indeed must come in handy.
We need a command skills-harnessing programme.
Under this initiative, let us make use of the many agriculture graduates and experts we have produced.
In the first phase of Command Agriculture we have produced a bumper harvest.
Imagine the harvest we will have, with all things in place.
Command Agriculture will do more for our country.
It will give life to our industries, debunk the effects of sanctions, create employment and fill our silos.
It will bring revenue to manufacturing companies, help to develop infrastructure and the country to regain its status as the bread basket of Africa.
We will no longer import maize, the money shall be used elsewhere, where it is desperately needed.
The programme has complemented the hugely successful Statutory Instrument (SI) of 2016.
Most important, we will no longer need food aid projects that have been used by regime change activists to get to our people.
The story of our Land Reform and Resettlement Programme has been distorted by our enemies and now it will be told in light of the success of the Command Agriculture Programme.
Our technical experts are ready to come to the party and make Zimbabwe a greenbelt of healthy crops.
We have the energy, positive energy to bring success to the nation.