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That the Command Agriculture Programme, launched by Government last year, will yield a bumper harvest is no longer a matter for speculation.

The issue is about the actual figures, and more importantly, the amounts delivered to the Grain Marketing Board. Rough early estimates already put the overall figure at more than 2 million tonnes of maize.

What should, however, be acknowledged too is the coincidence of the launch of the programme with the incidence of an unusually wet rainy season to that bumper harvest, something nobody can take direct credit for. It was more of an act of God supporting human endeavour.

To this end, we fully support remarks last week by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the need for early preparation for the next summer cropping season. He noted that despite the success of Command Agriculture this season, there were inadequate supplies of inputs such as fertiliser and draught power.

In light of that experience, he said Government was putting measures in place to ensure necessary preparations for the next farming season are underway by the end of August.

We should add that this must not be treated as a once-off or chance occurrence. So long as our farmers are still struggling to finance themselves, Government should continue to treat them as a priority sector. We cannot as a nation gamble with matters of the stomach.

Food insecurity is a major national security threat and there should be no equivocation about where our priorities lie.

VP Mnangagwa also pointed out that storage facilities had been identified to take up about four million tonnes of the staple maize. This is very important. Nothing is as disheartening as getting a bumper harvest almost from the blue, and then letting that good fortune go to waste because you have nowhere to store it.

Moreso when there is every likelihood that the entire SADC region will have adequate stocks. That curtails the market for export.

We are also pleased to hear that financial resources have already been mobilised to pay the farmers for their produce on time. It is only logical that Government should adequately feed the goose that lays the golden egg.

What we are not sure about is the sustainability of the price the Government pays the farmers ($390) for a tonne of maize given that on the international market the prices are far lower.

But all this feel good sentiment is about a single swallow which made a summer. It is not every season where we shall have more rains than anticipated. It is in this line that we want to repeat ourselves over and over again.

Zimbabwe in particular and the SADC region in general must anticipate rainfall deficit seasons by investing heavily in irrigation and road or railway infrastructure.

We can’t stress this enough because it is a matter of survival for a region constantly under surveillance by nations which want to use food to achieve nefarious political ends. Last year exposed just how vulnerable the entire region is when more than 20 million people were exposed to food insecurity and hunger because of drought.

Climate change should not be treated as a matter of signing or ratifying global treaties. It calls for action on the ground. Rain-fed agriculture has proved to be a tricky option, hence our emphasis on investing in water bodies and irrigation infrastructure. It is investment which pays for itself by guaranteeing food self-sufficiency and a supply of raw materials to industry.

But we also require adequate cross-border transport infrastructure so that food is moved fast in times of need. Railway is expensive to establish, but easily the cheaper option in terms of bulk carriage. Other modes of transport, while cheaper on the surface, quickly destroy our road network without a concomitant return on investment.

In short, we are saying while Government has a reason to beat its chest for Command Agriculture, it should not rest on its laurels. There are perils ahead of unpredictable nature seeming to conspire against our best intentions.

Successive incidences of drought have shown us that land reform without the requisite support infrastructure is not enough to ensure food security. Until such a time that our farmers are able to stand alone as businesses, Government must help with resources. That should not be too much to ask.