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Botched Zimbabwe Agrarian Revolution Threatens Food Security

Botched Zimbabwe Agrarian Revolution Threatens Food Security

Ian Goosen was one of Zimbabwe’s champion farmers but now is just an ordinary man watching the country’s agrarian sector ruin. “I could be doing better for my country,” he says, in reference to food security.

Goosen was driven out of a farm he inherited from his father, Thomas who died in 1989. The better part of his life he has been specializing in planting maize, Zimbabwe’s staple crop.

Farmers of Goosen’s caliber should naturally be vital for the country’s food security. However, because of politics of the day- despite being a fifth generation Zimbabwean- Goosen does not have land ownership rights.

“My ancestry can be traced back to Ireland and so under the current government I have no rights to own land,” he adds.

One day in 2003 waking up for his usual routine at his farm Goosen was greeted by rowdy youths known as the “militia” they were chanting warrior songs instructing him to pack his belongings within 48 hours.

When the 48 hours elapsed, war veterans then came to “shake” him a bit. That is when he saw that they meant business.

“The police couldn’t do anything when I filed a report. One officer who I was fond of advised me to leave. At that point all white farmers had been paid a visit. I chose to leave in peace. Those that stayed behind faced Armageddon,” he adds.

Goosen by being fifth generation Irish had no links whatsoever with Ireland. His home is Zimbabwe.

“I just went to stay in Gweru town where I have an engineering company. I am still here in Gweru but I could be doing better for everyone with a farm,” he adds.

Goosen is one of thousands of displaced white farmers. Those that did not have any other source of livelihood had to look for greener pastures within the farming industry and struggling African countries snapped them up.

Nigeria and Zambia

At the height of the farm invasions, when Zimbabwe’s economy and food security hit rock bottom, farmers such as Bruce Spain went as far as Nigeria to get land from that country for them to boost production.

In an interview with The Economist last year Spain said he went to Nigeria where things were in shambles.

“In Nigeria you’re on your own. In Zimbabwe you knew what your pre-planting price was—and the government guaranteed to buy what you grew. There are no support structures…In Zimbabwe you’d send a soil sample to the fertilizer company and they’d tell you what sort would be best. There’s nothing like that here.”

But with resilience, farmers such as him have introduced productive farming economics in Nigeria whilst their homeland Zimbabwe’s agriculture has reached near collapse.

Zambia is another country which took in Zimbabwean white commercial farmers. With the Zambian government supporting them, they have turned around that country’s farming.

About a 100 white commercial farmers from Zimbabwe, started from scratch in Zambia’s Mkushi district and over time they now produce more than 70 percent of Zambia’s maize crop, adding to its food security.

Zambia’s Investment Center (ZIC) that country’s open door policy framework to support foreign investments of late been authorizing them to own and operate farms under their names.

The Zambian government policy has seen a shift in balance. Before Zimbabwe’s chaotic land reform it used to export to other Southern African countries including Zambia. But tables have turned, Zimbabwe is surviving on importing maize from Zambia, South Africa and Malawi.

At one point- The Zimbabwean newspaper reported that corn coming from Zambia was branded with names of ex Zimbabwean farmers now based in Zambia.

Some of the bags had the name of one Michel Handris who was displaced in the Karoi area of  Mashonaland West Province. He is now farming in the Southern part of Zambia.

Back To Glory

As things stand in Zimbabwe, South Africa has come in to assist Zambia avert hunger. Malawi stopped its supplies to Zimbabwe over an outstanding debt as well as hunger also stalking the country.

Goosen believes that for Zimbabwe to get back to its glory days, there is need to re invest in agriculture through rule of law and financial backing.

“If I were to go to my former farm today I am sure just like others who were chased away, I will find that machinery has been vandalized, looted, structures left to dilapidation by people who now own numerous farms but are not producing.

“Banks are struggling and those that have money cannot risk to finance farming because there is no professionalism or due care left.”

“Another thing, the government should uphold laws and that on its own will restore property rights. You can’t borrow money using your farm as collateral in Zimbabwe because most people with farms got them for free- the farms don’t have monetary value because they were parceled out,” he said.

Bankers Association of Zimbabwe President George Guvamatanga said there is no way under the current setup banks would risk funding agriculture. This he said because such funds ordinarily are depositors money.

In a situation that farmers default nothing can be done to them.

“The old commercial farmers owned the land they worked on. But now the land belongs to the government. Where we lend, we don’t lend our own money, but other people’s money. We have a fiduciary responsibility to depositors,” he said.

Food Security Relief Needed

In 2013 Zimbabwe produced 800, 000 tonnes of maize when it required 2.2 million tones. Therefore needed to import 64 percent to feed about 14 million people. It only manage to secure 40 percent as imports.

Presenting his 2014 budget the minister of finance Patrick Chinamasa acknowledged the bad state of affairs with Zimbabwe’s agriculture.

But he hopes agriculture to grow by 9 percent, mainly driven by growth in corn, cotton, soya beans and groundnuts.

The government during the 2013-14 planting season put aside 1.65 million hectares for maize production. However, the Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (CFUZ) says the target will be missed.

This confirmed concerns raised by the World Food Programme that by April 2014  about 2.2 million Zimbabweans will be facing with starvation.

The imports coming from Zambia and South Africa can only last up to April. Hence more food relief is needed.

The biggest challenge to food security, according to CFUZ is cost of farming inputs.

“Seed and fertilizers are available from the shops but the farmers do not have the money to purchase,” said CFUZ president Wonder Chabikwa.

Henry Tshuma a black resettled farmer decided to leave maize, instead now specializes in tobacco because there is more money in tobacco farming.

“Tobacco farming is heavily funded by cigarette companies. We are given inputs and have guaranteed buyers.

“But with maize the central buyer is the government owned Grain Marketing Board which is broke. The money is hardly paid out and prices are ridiculously low,” he said.