Experts say this has prompted most of the new farmers to abandon agriculture and turn to other ventures, like clearing the lands of trees.This scenario is shocking, considering the intense scramble, mostly by the “well-connected’’, in 2000 to grab farms from thousands of well-established and productive commercial white farmers.
Although the initiative may have been one that was unavoidable as adjustments to the land ownership system in Zimbabwe were inevitable, one would be forgiven for thinking it was a big mistake.
From reports on the current state of Zimbabwe’s agriculture, it is becoming apparent that the majority of our “new farmers’’, who were more than eager to take over land from white farmers, are fast realising that farming is not as easy as they might have taken it to be, and that there is a major difference between subsistence farming and commercial farming.
Unfortunately, some, owing to persistent low yields, are starting to believe commercial farming is not productive, which is far from the truth. More worrying than the fact that Zimbabwe has gone down, from being the “bread basket’’ to being a “basket case’’, is the fact that most of these new farmers that are abandoning their farming businesses are reported to be turning to “better paying” ventures, like poaching the animals in their allocated areas.
In fact, the land reform programme has been blamed for the bulk of the environmental challenges that currently face Zimbabwe, among them deforestation, water pollution, poaching and land degradation.
This could explain why farming has over the last decade or so failed to significantly contribute to the country’s GDP. According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations website, agriculture accounted for 28% of GDP in 1998 with 27% of formal employment being in the agricultural sector.
The web-based encyclopedia, Wikipedia has this to say: “Zimbabwe was the world’s sixth largest producers of tobacco in 2001. “It produces nowadays less than a third of the amount produced in 2000, the lowest amount in 50 years.”
Contrary to some farmers’ misconception that agriculture might not be that productive anymore, it is still one business venture that guarantees returns, something that will, however, only happen when certain precautions are followed.
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Besides an outcry over the mostly erratic rainfall patterns that now prevail, in what environmentalists believe to be the initial signs of global warming, farmers could always readjust their planting times to fully utilise the rain season, especially for those that deal in water-reliant crops.But maybe most importantly, Zimbabwe’s “new farmers’’ should learn the most crucial thing about farming: how productive the land will continue to be is highly dependent upon how much care it is given.
An abundance of abused, not-taken-care-of land will, regrettably, not yield much. As reported last week in The Standard’s environmental issue on veld fires, most of the farmers are reportedly resorting to the slash and burn method as a cheaper mode of weed and grass management.
This method does not only destroy essential trees, kill animals while destroying the source of food and shelter for those that survive and put human life in grave danger, but it is also one that damages the soil and leaves it “tired’’.
Most farmers, in desperate attempts at higher yields, tend to excessively apply pesticides and other yield-enhancing chemicals. Besides exposing those who use them regularly to high toxic levels in their bodies, chemical pesticides harm the environment. Of concern is the movement of pesticides into groundwater, which happens to be the Zimbabwe majority’s source of drinking water. More importantly, chemicals tend to tire the soil, eventually rendering it less fruitful.
It is about time Zimbabwe’s farmers adapted all-natural methods of controlling pests and enriching the soil. Furthermore, most farmers seem to underestimate the value of crop-rotation as they tend to plant the same kind of crop year after year, which often leads to a build up in pathogens and pests that lower yields further.
Agriculture remains a vital sector that has the potential to contribute significantly to Zimbabwe’s GDP while creating employment for many. That, however, can only be possible if the “new farmers” come around and engage business in a manner that guarantees good yields and a healthy sustainable environment.
