Posted on 06/26/2002 4:11:34 PM PDT by Clive
THERE is a great temptation, especially by those in government, to trivialise the contribution of the commercial farmers to both the development and economy of this country.
This perception is founded on the belief that the
government’s brave new farmers will rise to the challenge and return this nation to its former status as a surplus food producer.To do so would be to live in a fool’s paradise.The significant achievements made by the smallholder farming sector in the production of cotton, groundnuts and maize, for example, are a result of a process spanning several years, accompanied by a series of supporting mechanisms that are both financial and human resource based.
To believe, therefore, that the newly resettled farmers under the government’s fast-track land resettlement programme can render the contribution of the commercial farming sector irrelevant overnight is to demonstrate unparalleled lack of understanding of the realities of agricultural production anywhere in the world.The levels of productivity the government is banking on,after dismissing the contribution of the commercial farming sector, cannot be achieved overnight and the question begging an answer must be: Why is the government in such a hurry to throw away such gains?
The consequences of the government’s decision to force mass suspension of agricultural activities on nearly all the commercial farms in the country and, therefore, relocation of the commercial farmers, will have far-reaching implications.It is possible Zimbabwe will face a food crisis for several years before the productivity can peak at the pre-2000 levels.
But that is the more optimistic projection. The situation could get worse and Zimbabwe could be stuck in a food production deficit mode – all because someone is pursuing a misguided agenda.The government’s seizure of all the grain from commercial farmers is in itself an admission of its desperation to provide the food needed to meet the nation’s consumption requirements.The seizures demonstrate that the government is aware its brave new settlers were unable to produce food in meaningful quantities. That is why in its desperation it has to resort to raiding even grain and food stocks intended for workers. This time next year, Zimbabwe could be in a chronic crisis, especially as there are suggestions of an El Nino phenomenon, which could mean a drought or floods.
The effect of both will translate into food scarcities.If the government is anxious to raise the status of indigenous players in the agricultural sector, it could have easily done so without orchestrating the mass eviction of farmers from their former properties. Placing greater emphasis on the government’s brave new farmers, while allowing the commercial farmers space to continue their activities would have only helped transform this country into a major agricultural powerhouse. The Section 8 orders served on commercial farmers, which came into effect at midnight on Monday amount to an effectively less overt method of expelling farmers, whichever way it is looked at. The one lesson that can be drawn from history is the incapacity of nations to learn from it. Samora Machel, the late Mozambican president, and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin made such serious miscalculations, with the resultant effect that their countries paid heavily. The political leadership in this country appears determined to drag Zimbabwe down that dark path.Could this be a deliberate ploy to impoverish this nation and impose hunger, so that except for the ruling elite, the majority of the inhabitants will be preoccupied with issues of survival and in the process ensure the safety of the ruling elite?
The government encouraged commercial farmers to go ahead and plant winter crops, but to turn round and demand that the same farmers cannot continue operations until the crop is harvested would be to show up the government as being deceitful. Zimbabwe’s agriculture stands on a threshold, but the truth is that the issue here is not about farmers.The commercial farmers are merely the first in the list of many casualties. The history of Chile and Germany provide chilling precedents.
Absolutely.
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