EDITORIAL COMMENT: Command Agriculture approach should include all crops

Organic farming

Most parts of the country have received excellent amounts of rainfall since the beginning of the wet season two months ago.

From time to time, the rainfall has given way to clear skies, an alternation that provides glorious conditions for crops to thrive.  The rainfall pattern is consistent with the forecast issued by the Meteorological Services Department in September last year — that the bulk of the country would receive normal to above normal rainfall.

To ensure that the rainfall does not go to waste, the Government and its partners as well as farmers themselves prepared thoroughly, mobilising various inputs and other resources which have, or are being invested in the land.  Much of the investment has been harnessed under the Command Agriculture programme under which as much as $500 million has been raised to buy inputs to support production of at least two million tonnes of maize this farming season.

In his overview of the season so far, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister, Dr Joseph Made said:

“The targeted command agriculture scheme has taken shape across the country, with most crops nearing the knee level. We are happy with the progress made so far as only very few hectares are still at the germination stage. The Government has provided farmers with the required seeds, basal fertilisers and herbicides. We have engaged the central bank to make sure that top dressing fertilisers come in time before the majority of farmers require them. I am happy with the support that the Chinese government has given us so far. They already gave us 10 000 tonnes of urea fertiliser, which is a timely boost for farmers.”

Official statistics show that 479 000 hectares have been put under maize under Command Agriculture against a Government target of 400 000 hectares. This excludes the crop that has been grown or is being grown by farmers using their own resources or under contract from other investors.

So far, we indeed have the right conditions for a successful farming season and that pleases us. We are confident that we are on course to a bumper harvest, come March. That is an end that every Zimbabwean is looking forward to since the past two or three farming seasons have yielded basically nothing due to droughts. The 4,1 million of our people who are relying on food handouts would certainly be happy when they harvest enough food to sustain themselves this year into 2018.

Ours is an agrarian economy which ticks if enough rains fall to enable our farmers to produce well. A good agriculture harvest means enough food for the people. It also means the Government would spend less on feeding the people and that savings would be used on other priorities. It means the manufacturing industry would access locally grown and often cheaper raw materials for processing into finished, higher-value products.

The economy reduces spending on imported products and actually builds capacity to export. Therefore, the importance of a thriving farming sector to our economy cannot be taken for granted.

We, however, recognise that conditions must continue as they are, even improve until March for the harvest we expect to materialise.  We pray that the rains will continue falling in just the right amounts and distribution, with no floods or concentration in a few zones and not others.

Our farmers need to continue working hard, weeding their crops or applying herbicides, applying fertilisers, planting or replanting where and when necessary and taking all the necessary decisions and actions for a bountiful harvest.

Officials also have to keep themselves on the ground, giving farmers the full range of technical advice they need. This must cover the special maize production facility under Command Agriculture and the normal production of other crops — cotton, tobacco and others that are grown in summer.

We are positive that 2017 will be the year of a turnaround in the performance of the local food production sector thanks to the Command Agriculture initiative. Once we have enough food stocks and the dignity of household and national food security restored, we would be able to unleash our potential as a country to recover the economy and grow it.

The command approach that the Government has adopted with regards to maize needs to be replicated to other strategic crops as well as other economic sectors. In the final analysis, the special focuses when added up would yield more holistic social and economic returns for the nation.

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