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AMHVoices:Grace spot-on on farm utilisation

AMH Voices
Among the critical issues that First Lady Grace Mugabe is preaching at her rallies is the need to normalise the agricultural sector

Among the critical issues that First Lady Grace Mugabe is preaching at her rallies is the need to normalise the agricultural sector, especially optimum use of the farms acquired during the historic land reform programme. She is dead right.

By John,Our Reader

Grace-Mugabe-adressing-a-rally-in-Rushinga-yesterday

The First Lady urged beneficiaries of the land reform to utilise to the maximum the farms they possess. She also urged government to consider downsizing farms so that everybody gets a share of the cake.

The agricultural sector has to be righted so that meaningful production is realised on the farms. Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of the region and its economy was anchored on agriculture. That status can be restored with seriousness employed in agriculture. Farmers must be thankful for the farms they got free and the only way they can show this gratitude is by producing enough food crops for the nation and the region as a whole.

There are people who are holding on to farms for prestige and some have just kept the farms for their unborn descendants. I have been recently to one farm. That farm is just a white elephant and has been lying idle for over 10 years. Some women who took over after their husbands died own the farms. As much as we need to be compassionate with widows, that should not be at the expense of national food security.

The widows who are failing to manage the farms left behind by their deceased husbands must surrender some pieces of it so that it is allocated to serious farmers who can contribute to the national food security. Farmers who are not utilising the land are putting the good name of the land reform into disrepute.

There has been endless talk about a land audit. Lands minister Douglas Mombeshora must explain to the nation what became of that. The nation was anxiously waiting for that audit for they had pinned their hopes on it. It was our hope that the landless would get some pieces of land from the excess that was to be unearthed by the land audit.

Also the chefs are mostly guilty of holding on to more than one farm. President Robert Mugabe is on record saying that while the land policy on ownership used to be one-man one-farm, it now must be one-family one-farm. It might sound frivolous to multiple farm owners, but the issue of land may cause conflict in future when the landless will demand another agrarian reform.

Government has tried its best to empower farmers. It started with the provision of the mechanised farm equipment and loan facilities. It is now time for farmers to be weaned and stand on their own feet. In fact, the farmers must now assist government by contributing to the national fiscus.

As we are facing erratic rainfall patterns, a vibrant irrigation programme must be uppermost in the government priority list. Irrigation will ensure that farming becomes an all-year-round activity. With the climatic conditions in this country coupled with power shortages, it will help if the irrigation equipment is powered by solar energy.

To effectively spur agriculture-led economic growth, the agricultural policies must not be a one-size-fits-all model. There are some parts of the country that are suitable for animal husbandry and they should receive appropriate assistance. The areas which are suitable for small grains farming must just engage in keeping cattle.

In other words, farmers must engage in activities that suit their climatic conditions. John