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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE land reform programme that the Government embarked on two decades ago is one huge achievement the country has scored since Independence was achieved 40 years ago.

Zimbabwe attained its Independence on April 18, 1980 after a fierce and protracted struggle against British colonial rule.

Livestock Farmers Union chairman Mr Sifiso Sibanda said there was nothing as fulfilling as the fact that the people of Zimbabwe got land, symbolising political and economic emancipation.

“The Land Reform programme which started in February 2000 is a landmark situation that can never be erased, it will always be a footprint of the gains of Independence,” he said.

“It gave black people, myself included, an opportunity first to know what our country looks like, which are the fertile areas of our country, where do our rivers and dams stem from, which trees and grass species are where and in which part of our country,” said Mr Sibanda.

He said before the land reform programme, the indigenous people did not know much about their land as it was owned by a few white commercial farmers.

“We never knew the inland navigation, now we know but most importantly we have been blessed by being beneficiaries of the national estate (land), so grateful we are. It (land reform) has not happened in Africa and we are the leaders on that one.

“When people got land, we automatically became people of substance, we became stockholders in the national estate, we became people who have property that has value and we can build our homes and farms,” he said.

Notwithstanding other issues such as natural disasters, among them drought as well as human activity-induced calamities like veld fires that sometimes destroy pastures, Mr Sibanda noted that there are now more people on the land with livestock than prior to the agrarian reform programme. He said while utilisation of the land may not be at full throttle as yet, it is slowly getting there thus when Zimbabweans talk of independence, there are tangible benefits it.

“When we talk of Independence, we have got things that are tangible and say ‘these are the sweet fruits of the liberation struggle.’ Of course, we have the bitter fruits of Independence because we lost people that time (liberation struggle), but we also now cherish the sweet fruits of Independence l have talked about,” said Mr Sibanda.

He added that indigenous farmers were a blessed and happy community that has immensely benefited from the protracted liberation struggle that brought Independence. “No wonder why we now have got the farmers’ unions and women farming, prominent women some of them lawyers and broadcasters who are farming. They never thought it will happen but it has happened,” he said.

He said land was a transgenerational resource and nothing was as fulfilling as being economically empowered to productively utilise it.

Recently, Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri said Government will soon repossess underutilised farm land and allocate it to other beneficiaries.

The Minister indicated that Government had operationalised a wide range of schemes that farmers could choose from to make sure that the redistributed land is productively put to use for the country’s greater economic benefit.

Notable among the schemes was the recently relaxed joint venture scheme where the farmer can partner with a willing investor on agreed terms and conditions.

As it stands, the country is battling excessive food imports owing to a considerable number of both large and small-scale farmers that are not fully using the redistributed land. Unpredictable weather patterns have been blamed too for the lack of food.

Last year, Zimbabwe imported US$26,7 million worth of maize with US$25,5 million worth in the last six months of that year. The imports were meant to fend off hunger following a drought. Other agriculture related imports include crude soya bean oil where US$72 million was spent, soya oil cake (US$12 million) and stock feeds related where US$16,6 million was spent.

In total, the country imported agriculture related products worth more than US$350 million.

Asked his view on Government repossessing underutilised farmland, Mr Sibanda said:

“Having land lying idle is not fair to everybody in Zimbabwe because remember the punitive sanctions were imposed on Zimbabweans simply because of the Land Reform programme.

“So, what people are suffering for on your behalf (person with idle land), you have actually blown off the candle and put it under your armpits.

“People with land must demonstrate on the land who they are and what they are capable of doing and not to be placeholders, those ones have no place on the land.”

He said as a farmers’ representative body they are supportive of anyone utilising the land productively.

“We are very much supportive of farmers who are running around trying to get resources to improve their farms for example, drilling boreholes on their farms so that they can have access to water and can irrigate.

“We support those farmers who have the animals and are trying to improve the quality of the breeds…we have no reason, obligation and heart to support a person who got land and has remained in their one-roomed house or shack in Makokoba or elsewhere and still don’t want to go farming at their farm,” said Mr Sibanda.

The Zimbabwe Indigenous Women’s Farmers Association Trust (ZIWFAT) president Mrs Depina Nkomo said the attainment of Independence has resulted in gender equality.

Unlike before the attainment of Independence, women were not allowed to explore opportunities in the male-dominated fields such as farming.

“As a result of the liberation struggle, Zimbabwe attained Independence and for the past 40 years, we are happy as women in farming that there has been a sense of gender equality that has been adopted by our Government to the extent that women are now allowed to penetrate the previously male-dominated fields and not only in farming but in different sectors,” she said.

Mrs Nkomo said under the ZIWFAT data base there are 50 000 female farmers dotted across the country adding that this was all because of the emancipation Zimbabweans continue to enjoy.

She said female farmers have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt their capability of working productively on the land. “We are happy to be farming but we are appealing for more support from the Government. Our clarion call is for us as women in farming to be supported with state of the art agriculture equipment and machinery. For example, we would want the Government to relax some of the terms and conditions required so that as small-scale farmers we have access to machinery such as tractors being availed under the Government programme,” said Mrs Nkomo.

Two weeks ago, Government took delivery of 30 tractors that are part of the US$50 million deal it signed with global farm implement manufacturer, John Deere.

The deal — which will see John Deere supplying 1 300 tractors, 80 combine harvesters and other related agricultural equipment — was cemented following President Mnangagwa’s engagement with John Deere Agriculture Worldwide president Mr Mark von Pentz who expressed his willingness to partner the Government in boosting the agriculture sector through mechanisation.

The tractors were shipped from Germany to Zimbabwe via Durban, South Africa.

Former Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president Mr Thomas Nherera said since the attainment of Independence, there have been some notable achievements by black commercial farmers and this means that by virtue of being commercial players in the agriculture sector, they were now significant contributors to the Gross Domestic Product.

“There have been some achievements, but there are so many aspirations people have. The first achievement is that a black commercial farmer is now a significant contributor to the production of different crops and livestock as a whole. In that respect farmers are happy with what they are doing,” he said

However, he said, they could have done a lot more if they were able to access sustainable credit lines to fund their operations. He said farmers are eager to increase livestock and crop production. “However, they are so constrained by constraints that are there for which farmers would want to find adequate financial support and also service both in terms of technical service as well as support in the distribution of the produce.

“They also want machinery during farming and processing work as well as a lot of electricity support on the farms. Those if done, would make farming more productive,” he said.

On Government’s intention to repossess idle land, Mr Nherera acknowledged that it was necessary that land is used but there should be adequate support mechanisms to ensure the farmers use it before it is repossessed.

“If there is no provisions for supporting the farmers to use that land, it’s not the best approach to punish somebody before you even support that person.

“It’s necessary that we put mechanisms not by way of free funds, but people should be able to get sufficient funds which they can use and repay so that they increase production,” he said. — @okazunga