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Lovemore Ranga Mataire : Senior Writer

FACED with persistent unstable climatic conditions, the Government will in October, launch the Targeted Command Agriculture scheme whose main thrust is to ensure food security and economically empower farmers. Unlike other similar past schemes, the Targeted Command Agriculture scheme is unique in a number of ways. The participant farmers would be carefully selected according to proximity to water bodies, has specific realistic goals and therefore less cumbersome in execution.

Although noble in perspective, previous schemes like Operation Maguta (2005), was such a massive programme involving thousands of farmers, some of whom were first timers who needed constant handholding.

Initiated by Cabinet, Operation Maguta was spearheaded by the then Agriculture Minister Dr Joseph Made and Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi. The Joint Operation Committee (JOC) comprising of the army, police, prisons and the intelligence services were also involved in the implementation of the scheme meant to cushion newly resettled farmers.

Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) and the Agricultural Technical Extension Services (Agritex) were also involved in the identification of beneficiaries around the country. Halfway through the programme, it became clear that hundreds of Agritex officers deployed throughout the country could not cope up with the sheer numbers of the farmers needing assistance and close monitoring.

It also became clear that although the goals of the scheme were grandiose, the means to execute and put in place checks and balances were meagre. As a result, Operation Maguta was dogged by a number of administrative problems.

At its inception, Operation Maguta targeted to place 1 500 hectares under maize production in the 2005/2006 farming season and to produce 2 250 tonnes of maize. It also intended to produce 90 000 tonnes of tobacco, 49 500 tonnes of maize seed, 210 000 tonnes of cotton, 750 000 of horticulture crops. Notable goals were realised, but not to the intended expectations because of a number of hurdles.

The scheme was riddled with inefficiencies especially in the distribution of inputs and other resources. In some cases, lack of prudent monitoring mechanisms resulted in double allocation of farm implements and criminal elements took advantage of the system’s opaqueness ended up being recipients of implements and other resources allocated to deserving farmers.

In his 2005 Fourth Quarter Monetary Policy Review Statement, the then Reserve bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono revealed massive abuse of the heavily subsidised diesel meant for agricultural purposes.

It seems, however, that the current scheme being spearheaded by the chairperson of the Food Security Committee, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is intent on ensuring that the implementation process is tightly monitored to ensure maximum efficiency guarantee food security.

As illustrated by Vice President Mnangagwa during a recent Senate briefing; “The first objective is to be self-sufficient in the provision of food within the next three or four seasons in this country. To be self-sufficient, we need at least two million metric tonnes of grain in the country.”

The difference between the Maguta scheme and this scheme is that the targeted 2 000 farmers — a manageable figure — can be coordinated with less hassle. Besides targeting farmers close to water bodies, the scheme will also enhance the operations of Arex officers, most of whom seem to have become redundant.

It cannot be in doubt that the success of the scheme will largely depend on Government’s capacity in mobilising and harnessing domestic resources. If successful, the scheme will not only be able to guarantee food security, but will also create employment in downstream industries.

Vice President Mnangagwa said even a farmer with 50 hectares can join with another with similar hectares to qualify for the scheme which will provide farm implements, fertiliser and seeds. — ZSS

“A distinct advantage of the project is that it is self-financing, with each participating farmer being required to commit five tonnes per hectare towards repayment of advanced loans in the form of irrigation equipment, inputs and chemicals, mechanised equipment, electricity and water charges.”

The attractiveness of the scheme to the farmer is that he/she can retain the surplus for personal use. This will seriously motivate farmers to use whatever implements to be made available by Government to maximum use so as to reap surplus which can be sold.

Every farmer is aware that success is hinged on three major ingredients. These include efficiency, land and water. Land and water are central to agriculture and rural development and are linked to global challenges of food security and poverty.

Cognisant of fluctuating climatic conditions, there is therefore need to harness water in order to mitigate the effects of drought and further depletion of natural resources that affect the livelihoods of Zimbabweans.

It is hoped that besides empowering the targeted farmers, the scheme will also assist in highlighting the significance of land and water, finite resources that form the basis for food production and thus must be sustainably and productively utilised.

Vice President Mnangagwa must also be commended for introducing the National Livestock Strategy aimed at resuming beef exports to the European Union, Middle East and other markets. Already, 2 000 hectares are being cleared for irrigated grass at ARDA-Ngwizi in Mangwe, Matabeleland South, enough to feed 60 000 animals per annum.

In the end, the dream of optimizing output by requiring a minimum input for food and export crops is not a mirage. Indeed, the success of the Targeted Command Agriculture will not be inseparable to the general economic recovery of the country. — Zimpapers Syndication Services.