Encourage Farmers to Produce Food Crops

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) November 20, 2005  11/22/2005

EVERYONE has been watching the skies, hoping the rains fall. Zimbabwe desperately needs a good farming season this summer if the economy is to begin picking up. Agriculture is the pivot of Zimbabwe's economy and last year's drought greatly weighed down the economy, scuttling the progress that had been made since the launch of the turnaround efforts. Because Zimbabwe is over-reliant on rain-fed agriculture, another drought would complicate further the recovery efforts and leave the country more vulnerable to the evil schemes of its detractors. Sceptics have been talking about the likelihood of a bad season and what it would mean for Zimbabwe. This despondency is being exacerbated by mixed signals coming from the Met Office regarding the rainfall situation. Earlier on the Met Office had indicated that countries like Zimbabwe now have two seasons - October to December and January to March. But October has gone with no rains and November is halfway and still no satisfactory rain. Farmers will now need up-to-date information for them to plan their season and plant the right seed varieties. In previous seasons, the Ministry of Agriculture would set up a command centre which directed the efforts of the farmers, giving them precise information on the weather, the type of seeds to plant and the availability of inputs. We believe the same approach should be used this season. Farmers must be mobilised to grow particular crops, which would be of strategic importance to the country. Top of the list should be food crops, especially the staple crop maize. We have seen this year that the battle against inflation can be won if we deal first with the problem of food inflation. Producing more food so that supply outstrips demand and the prices go down fights food inflation. This should not be much of a problem should the rains come. Traditionally, communal and smallholder farmers have produced 70 percent of the food requirements of the country from their small and less fertile lands. Now with bigger and more fertile land there should be no reason why Zimbabwe cannot return to the position of net exporter of maize. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has done its part by coming up with an incentive for farmers to produce maize. They are going to pay farmers $2 million a tonne above the yet to be announced producer price. The producer price is inexplicably being kept a secret from farmers. Instead of being a motivator, the unstated producer price becomes a source of doubt for the farmers who say why go into maize instead of tobacco and cotton, which guarantees them good prices. The reluctance to pay a high producer price and keeping farmers guessing is counter-productive. In the end, the country spends more money importing maize and wheat instead of paying enough to local farmers to produce the crops locally. Maize is being imported at a price of US$200 a tonne. If local farmers are paid that much, Zimbabwe will not need to worry about importing maize. But we are confident that the RBZ incentive will re-assure the farmers. What is now needed is a sustained campaign to inform farmers, especially the smallholder farmers, that they will be adequately remunerated for their efforts. It should be the responsibility of every Member of Parliament, Cabinet minister, councillor and other opinion makers to encourage farmers to produce food crops. The scales in farming should always be tipped in favour of food crops, followed by export crops like tobacco and cotton and, of course, livestock production. There is now greater stability on the farms following the conclusion of the fast-track land reform programme. A few skirmishes are being reported here and there. They must be quickly doused so that farmers can maintain their focus on production. Enditem