Experts have called on the incoming government to be tough on consequence management and find a working mechanism to fight corruption and the non-implementation of policies that are aimed at improving the lives of the people through agriculture in Zimbabwe.
Hamond Motsi, a preparatory PhD scholar at the faculty of agrisciences at Stellenbosch University, told Food For Mzansi that the upcoming elections next week Wednesday, 23 August, are a turning point for the people of Zimbabwe.
He said the issue of land reform remains the key component in which the Zimbabwean agriculture sector can either be revived or continue to be stagnant.
‘History coming to bite us’
“Agriculture has always been a problem in Zimbabwe in terms of national policies, mainly the land reform programme which happened 20 years ago. What happened then continues to influence what is happening now in terms of politics.
“The land reform programme, the way it was done was politically motivated because the ruling party Zanu-PF wanted the votes from the people by giving them land. Some of those people who took the land could not farm, they just took the land. The grabbing of land ended up being violent because white people were kicked out of their farms and others killed,” he said.
According to Motsi, the unfair distribution of land in Zimbabwe was what led to the once food basket of Africa facing food insecurity and sanctions which has made the situation worse.
“Even with these elections, the question of land reform is still being raised especially those who received land via politics.
“There is always politicking when it comes to the issue of land which is not solving the matters of the land problem in Zimbabwe, it is a big issue,” he said.
Signs of hope only if…
Motsi said Zimbabwean agriculture is slowly recovering, however, the biggest problem is corruption that is not being dealt with by the government.
“The whole economy of Zimbabwe has been anchored on agriculture, especially on tobacco, soya beans and maize, but there was a decline since late 2000 after the grabbing of the land”
“However, recently, there has been a major rise in tobacco farming. It has been a sector that has been performing very well and 90% of producers in Zimbabwe are black farmers,” he said.
Motsi said the new model that has been introduced on how farmers can be contracted as suppliers with main foreign companies was a positive move that has yielded good results.
“Other crops like maize and soya beans depend on seasons but there has been an improvement with those crops over the years. Wheat also has seen a rise in its production.
“So, the government has been showing a lot of initiative on how they can support farmers through financial aid annually. But the problem is that there is a lot of corruption which leads to farmers not receiving that much-needed support,” he said.
Agri revival is a must
National African Farmers Union (Nafu) president Motsepe Matlala said the elections are important for Zimbabwe and whichever party wins has no choice but to focus on reviving the agricultural sector.
“I think Zanu-PF is under pressure to deliver economically. We have seen the president of the party and of the country visiting different countries and this has resulted in sanctions being relaxed from time to time, I think that is a step in the right direction.
“I still maintain my view that taking into consideration that Africa is moving towards the betterment of agriculture, it is vital that whoever wins, gives great attention to agriculture,” he said.
According to Matlala, Zimbabwe was at an advantage in natural resources such as water which is a much bigger problem in South Africa.
“If political and economical stability can be realised, I am more than certain that Zimbabwe will actually become one of the best agricultural countries in Africa,” he said.
We need Zimbabwe to wake up
Saamtrek Saamwerk leader Sehularo Sehularo said the Zimbabwean elections were critical for the development and growth of agriculture in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
“We hope that the coming government will once again put agriculture at the epicentre of growth and job creation. Everyone wants to see the Zimbabwe we know, that produces food and supply to other countries. We want to see the Zimbabwe that we as farmers in neighbouring countries can forge relations with,” he said.
Sehularo said agriculture was the only tool that developing countries can rebuild their economy with, ensuring the livelihood of farmers and communities is changed for the better.
“We stand ready to collaborate with farmers and organised agriculture in any country because we want to see Africa feeding itself. We want to see interrelations and agreements being signed which can only happen when there is a conducive business environment,” he said.
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