The President of the CFU, Charles Taffs, told The Zimbabwean that the lack of clear cut policies on agriculture and the chaotic acquisition of properties over the past 12 years had led to a reduction in agricultural productivity thereby contributing significantly to the nation’s food shortages.
He dismissed as “absolute nonsense” claims that drought was the major contributing factor to the acute food shortages Zimbabwe is facing, saying it was an attempt by those behind the destruction of the agricultural sector to cover up for their destructive policies.
He also said government’s failure to distribute inputs in time to resettled farmers had resulted in the country failing to produce enough food for the people. The lack of farming expertise among resettled farmers, he said, had worsened the situation.
“There is no drought here. It’s bad planning. The country does not have an agricultural policy. These are the real issues and it really infuriates me when they say there is a drought.
‘‘For the last 12 years, we haven’t been feeding ourselves and the problem is that we are growing maize where it is not suitable to do so -70 percent of the crop is not being grown where it should be grown and what’s the point of distributing inputs in December? We need to stop making excuses now and stop blaming others for the problems the county is facing,” said Taffs.
A recent Zimbabwe Vulnerability and Assessment report (ZimVAC) reveals that an estimated 1,6 million people in rural areas are likely to need food assistance this season and the number is 60 percent higher than the one million recorded last season. The report also reveals that this year’s cereal harvest was just over a million metric tons, a third lower than that of last year and the lowest since 2009.
Taffs said efforts to revive the country’s agricultural industry were being derailed by “political issues which are always at the forefront”. This, he said, had led to a huge decline in agricultural productivity, with that adversely affecting other sectors of the economy.
“Agriculture is not to be viewed in isolation. It is tied to banking, rural councils, schools and manufacturing industries. The problem now is that agriculture is not working. If we sort agriculture, we sort everything else. To have a UN food agency based in Harare is an insult,” he said.
Taffs also took a swipe at the country’s draft constitution which he said is “incredibly unsatisfactory” and smacks of an attempt by some powerful figures to sweep compensation claims by former white commercial farmers under the carpet.
The draft constitution enshrines the right of the state to acquire land and also states that the takeovers will be done without compensation. The draft constitution also guarantees invaders’ rights to the properties they seize and insists Britain is responsible for compensation of land seized during the Land Reform Programme.
“What is concerning is that the constitution is full of contradictions. For example, in the Bill of Rights, it is clear that no one shall be prejudiced of land but it is clear that white farmers are being prejudiced.
‘‘The Zimbabwean government in the draft constitution has said they are not going to honour international court rulings on land. Ignoring international court rulings on land will isolate the country further and this is something we cannot afford to do,” said Taffs, adding that the drafters had missed an opportunity to resolve the land question once and for all and the stance taken on land will continue to hold back agricultural productivity.
Post published in: News