EDITORIAL COMMENT: Presidential Inputs, Command Agric expansion laudable Dr Joseph Made
Minister Joseph Made

Minister Joseph Made

Zimbabwe has transformed itself from dependence on food aid a few years ago to self-sufficiency. A proposal to export surplus food in future if the growth we saw this year is, as expected, maintained has already been floated.

It is a dramatic turnaround which is also very welcome as the country has relied on food aid for some years over the past decade and a half.  Recurrent droughts and inadequate preparations are to blame for that food insecurity. Last year, for example, the Government issued an international appeal for support to feed around 4,1 million people.

It was an embarrassment we had to endure, having about a third of our people going hungry and only having to thank foreign donations.

But that must be firmly in the past. This year, as we report elsewhere on these pages, the country has regained a record that must never be lost again, that of food self-sufficiency.

We are on the threshold of harvesting around four million tonnes of food crops, with 2,1 million tonnes of maize expected. Deliveries of the staple grain to the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) are fast reaching 500 000 tonnes that the granary must have at every time for greater food security.

Other food crops such as sorghum, millet, roundnuts, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cowpeas, squash, sugar beans and pumpkins also did well this year. Wheat, which is still in the ground should perform similarly well.

This bountiful harvest restates the point that with enough planning and execution Zimbabwe can feed itself and realise surpluses to feed the hungry elsewhere. The Presidential Inputs Support Scheme and Command Agriculture programme coupled with favourable rains and of course commitment by our farmers to produce are the reasons why this feat has been achieved.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister, Dr Joseph Made said:

“The weekly delivery of 90 000 tonnes is going to be surpassed as the current deliveries are still mainly from A2 farmers but soon it will be a combination of communal, A1, old resettlement and small scale commercial sectors. These farmers are now busy preparing to shell their crops. The SGR figures are also going up. Very soon SGR will reach 500 000. On the ground cylindrical silos which cater for 700 000 tonnes are getting full which means we have to switch to the hard stand silos.

“This means GMB must now re-engage on a contract basis the workers who were laid off so that the depots that handle the hard stand crop can be manned.

There will be a lot of work at the current and satellite depots. We gave a directive to the GMB chairman to speed up the setting of satellite depots now that we are handling Presidential inputs. Cotton inputs under the Presidential Inputs Scheme are also being moved to various depots.  I am happy because the GMB has taken heed of instructions that all depots should remain open until all deliveries are cleared. I do not expect any farmers to be turned back.”

We are pleased that the Government has started preparing for the forthcoming summer season and is expanding and deepening existing programmes.

The Presidential Inputs Scheme is being expanded to include pulses — leguminous crops such as cowpeas, beans, groundnuts and roundnuts that are highly nutritious and are very critical in ensuring food security especially in rural areas.  Under this scheme, the Government has said 1,8 million households would benefit this year, up from 800 000 who benefited during the 2016/17 season. About $153 million will be spent on this.

The Command Scheme is being expanded also beyond maize, wheat, fisheries and livestock to include soyabeans and wildlife. A budget of $334 million has been drawn up.

We have no doubt that these two programmes will accelerate the recovery and growth of the agriculture sector while boosting national food security.

When launching the Command Agriculture Scheme late last year, the Government said it would run for three seasons after which farmers would be weaned off and expected to finance their operations. That is a good plan as it seeks to ensure that our farmers are self-financing.

However, we implore authorities to continue supporting farmers without the need to give a timeline. Command Agriculture must just continue for as long as there is a need. In the same vein, the Presidential Inputs Scheme, which has been around for many years and does not have a timeframe, must also continue for as long as there is a need.

Command Agriculture’s emphasis on farmers with irrigation capability is great. It will work better with more support going towards new investments in irrigation infrastructure and enhancing what is already there. It will smoothly complement the Presidential Inputs Scheme which is geared towards rain-fed rural production.

Therefore, as we have pointed out earlier, both must be expanded and deepened, not just because they have worked for us but also because many other governments have their own programmes run along the same lines as ours but with different names, of course.

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