Don’t blame it all on the poor rains!
Written by Administrator Friday, 13 April 2012 16:38
Another season, another failed harvest as the nation faces a grain deficit, hunger and possible starvation in 2012. And yet once again, the government, as has been the case since 2000, blames the poor rains for the untenable harvest without conducting a thorough assessment of the productivity on farms and other underlying causes of grain deficit
When we examine food insecurity in Zimbabwe from 2000, it points to the multidimensional impact of the chaotic land reform program. Although the principle of land reform to achieve equitable distribution and empowerment is a noble idea the ZANU PF driven land reform programme was chaotic, partisan and benefited few political elites. The fast track land reform programme contributed to the disruption of society and brought fear, anxiety and uncertainty to community life in Zimbabwe. Severe food shortages permeated by inadequate food in all the land sectors seem to imply that the land reform has been a huge flop in terms of agricultural production. According to the Food Aid Organisation (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP), Zimbabwe has gone through consistent food deficits in the nine years of the fast track programme, the humanitarian crisis is reflected by the fact that over two million Zimbabweans were food insecure in 2008 and this rose to 3, 8 million people during October – December, reaching 5,1 million in January 2009. In 2011, 1, 4 million people were in need of food aid while two million Zimbabweans will require food assistance between now and April 2012 according to WFP.
The implosion of the Zimbabwean agricultural sector which has pushed millions to the brink of starvation is a direct result of the chaotic land grabs carried out since 2000 by the Mugabe regime under the guise of black empowerment which turned the once powerful sector into a disaster of epic proportions. Once revered as the bread basket of Africa, Zimbabwe finds itself grappling with a man- made disaster resulting in reliance on food imports and aid. An analysis of the national crop productivity trends since the year 2006 have shown that Maize production in the year 2007 was 1.730 million tonnes, 2008 - 1,446 million, 2009 to 2010 - 1,426 million, while in 2011 the country witnessed a decrease in production with a harvest of 1.35 million tonnes[i]. These trends are an indication of how food security in the country has deteriorated since taking up of the fast track reform programme. At independence, the agricultural sector accounted for 17% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 32.4% of formal employment and 65% of the population’s livelihood was directly dependent on the sector according to the ZCTU and ANSA publication, ‘Beyond the Enclave’. Agriculture still remains the mainstay of the economy, with 65% of the population’s livelihood directly dependent on the sector.
Zimbabwe's policy of seizing previously productive farms and handing them over to ZANU PF loyalists has cost the country’s production over the past decade. The chaotic land grabs according to the 2003 Utete report, were characterised by opportunism, discrimination on political grounds, self- enrichment by political and economic elites and corruption. Revelations by the World Food Programme (WFP) that “the food situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated more drastically than expected,” are worrying.
Minister Made blamed the food insecurity situation on poor rains but this, however is just but a tip of the iceberg as the problem is way bigger than that. President, Robert Mugabe, and his family now own 39 farms seized from commercial farmers, according to reports by the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU). Moreover, hundreds more have been 'stolen' from experienced farmers and used to reward sympathisers of the Mugabe regime, many of whom conduct ‘cellphone farming’ and have little or no knowledge of farming. There have been numerous reports of the “new farmers”, through detrimental farming practices, tiring the soils and clearing the land of trees, resulting in severe soil erosion and the resultant low productivity yet agro-forestry and taking up conservation farming have been identified to be among the viable solutions.
The inclusive government needs to carry out a land audit to ascertain productivity on commercial farms as a first step towards encouraging higher productivity and maximum utilisation of land. A well meaning government must put in place policies which protect the poor majority who bear the brunt of food shortages by deliberately targeting non- productive farms. Minister’s Made decision to bury his head in the sand by placing the blame on poor rains will not solve the problems created by the chaotic land redistribution program.