Agriculture in Zimbabwe: The Road to Success

Agriculture in Zimbabwe: The Road to Success

As participants in all walks of the Zimbabwean economy steel themselves for what inevitably will be a challenging beginning to 2019, the enduring national smile, somehow, remains visible. Given that these are not the first fuel queues we have endured, nor the first price hikes we’ve begrudgingly swallowed, the general lack of confidence that things are soon to get better is perhaps understandable. Although we may shake our heads and wish for better, Zimbabwe still has a unique ability to ‘make a plan’. Clearly some of these plans are being implemented, because – against all odds – Zim trundles on, through what can only be described as a gruelling economic period.

A photo of fuel queues in central Harare (photo courtesy of GPSA)

It is an astonishing sort of resilience that finds positives in our current situation, and one for which millions of Zimbabweans deserve credit. Sun Tzu’s adage that “in the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity” seems improbable as we look with despair at the kilometres of hopefuls approaching every Puma, Zuva, and Engen in the land. But there is art to how Zimbabwe is approaching this war against its past, and encouragingly, its future seems to be winning. There is a palpable tension; an excitement for what is to come. Zimbabwe is ready to emerge from this arduous chapter, and to reinstate itself as a serious economy; a force with which to be reckoned.

Confusion still surrounds the practical changes that need to take place before this transformation can occur. Those of us involved with Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector know, on first name terms, the frustration of the mismatch between Zim’s potential and its current performance. Those in search of solace need to look no further than the tobacco industry, whose regeneration is the lifejacket keeping Zimbabwean agriculture afloat. From record lows of 48 million kilograms in 2008, tobacco output is once again in competition with itself, trying its damnedest to break its own annual output records. In 2014, the output was 217 million kilos. In recent years, output has hovered quite stably near 200 million kilograms. Happily, another figure instils confidence: for 2000’s output, 1,500 farmers were responsible for 97% of the crop; but for 2013’s output, that number soared to 110,000 contributing farmers (depending on whom you ask; some people’s figures are actually closer to 150,000).

Tobacco floor in Harare (photo courtesy of www.sundaymail.co.zw)

But there is only so much buoyancy, so much respite, that one industry within one sector can provide. The contract model followed by the majority of the tobacco industry (I think 80%) has been met with resistance by the old guard, but has unequivocally worked. Marmite: love it or loathe it; it still sells. So, what to do? How do we alleviate the burden currently assumed by tobacco sales and tapping Zimbabwe’s mineral and gemmological wealth?

Whether the contract model is replicable within horticulture and crop cultivation remains unclear. There seems to be uncertainty as to whether horticulture and crop cultivation can bow down to that venerable overlord of FOREX Generation. Quite how this uncertainty can be justified also remains – to me at least – unclear. In Zimbabwe’s most prosperous economic era, it went by a nickname that we are all keen to reinstate: The Breadbasket of Africa. Contract farming facilitates smaller players to farm in the same way as their more efficient and cashed-up big brothers, whose operations run at a level of profitability that allows them to invest in their own future. But they too once had limited resources, and in simple terms, what contract farming really means is that farmers of all scales have the same level of access to machinery and technology. Zimbabwe benefits from a near-perfect agricultural set-up: its climate, its soil, and its bottomless reserve of energy for remounting the pedestal of international trade render it one step away from realising a great potential. That step is mechanisation.

A World combine harvester for small-scale farming use. Currently available from Kurima Machinery.

It is at this point that I must apologetically plug my company, for what is an opinion piece without some shameless self-promotion? Kurima Machinery is at the forefront of empowering the smallholder farmer through considered, intelligent mechanisation. Where previous players in the small-scale farming world have focused on selling a machine and washing their hands of their clients, Kurima recognises that its responsibility does not lie solely with the importation and sale of complicated machinery. Two fundamental elements of selling farming equipment have been overlooked too frequently, namely: training; and servicing. The former is essential. Not only must a buyer fully understand how to operate their machine (the full usefulness of a machine can only be realised when it is used fluently and efficiently, otherwise it can be actively counterproductive); but a buyer must be helped to understand the benefit of the upgrade they are undertaking. Explaining – in simple, clear terms – how an initial capital outlay can generate increased returns will make sure the new technology is fully adopted; that the investment benefits the investor; and, in time, that the agricultural sector is able to perform to its full potential.

Encouragingly, Kurima is not alone in its desire to change the way the small-scale farmer is treated. From the dark days of lending, with unrealistic repayment terms, unreasonable interest rates and punitive default charges, some pioneering financial institutions have seen the light. Success Microfinance, to name but one, certainly seems to have understood that the income of their typical client is limited and sporadic; that their spending patterns follow their earnings, almost to the hour; and that taking 10 hectares of land in a remote rural area as collateral benefits absolutely nobody. Without giving away too much of Success’ secret to…well…success, take it from me and some of the clients who have benefitted from their services that their terms are realistic; their interest rates are favourable (excellent, in fact); and that their ambition is not to repossess all smallholder land in the country, one collateral hectare at a time. They, too, have the future in mind.

I, for one, have faith in Zimbabwe’s ability to regenerate. As long as the same slap-dash, quick-fix approach that is applied to road repair in Harare is not applied to rejuvenating agriculture in this country, I see only good things on the horizon for farmers. The potholes created in the road to success by ineffectual farming cannot simply be filled in; we must repave the entire road. And for that, we’re going to need a few machines.

--> Ferdinand M C Reynolds Commercial Director: Kurima Machinery and Technology
+263779104809
www.kurimamachinery.com

About the author:

Ferdinand Reynolds has recently moved to Zimbabwe from the U.K. to join the team at Kurima Machinery. He is a recent graduate from Balliol College at Oxford University, where he read for a degree in Spanish and Italian. He is enjoying Zimbabwe a great deal, and would welcome any questions or comments!