Tapuwa Mashangwa
ONE of the unfortunate trends synonymous with farming in Zimbabwe is that most individuals tend to rush to where the money is in farming instead of actually doing a self-assessment and identifying who they truly are and what they enjoy about agriculture. So what it creates is a scenario whereby we have many farmers who are doing the same things, stifling diversification and reducing market prices. God’s kingdom is perfectly made to cater for everyone.

Each and every one of us is uniquely and wonderfully made.

Research shows that there are many factors that influence who we are as individuals. Culture, decisions we make, upbringing, schooling, life experiences, past hurts and disappointments, interests, ambition, character etc. On average the influence of tradition and schooling has made most Zimbabwean farmers replicas of a farmer they know.

Instead of following their true heart’s desire they often get stuck imitating someone else’s passion and not their own. For example, farmer B sees farmer A doing well producing and selling watermelons, then usually farmer B will delve into the similar crop and farmer C then sees farmer A and farmer B making good profits and then farmer C joins them.

Despite the advantage that this scenario provides, which is that these farmers are able to share information and come up with innovative ways to improve their production systems, we cannot ignore the fact that the price of watermelon will decrease as the supply base increases.

It is amusing how usually with the agricultural market, there can be a period of surplus of an agricultural produce then the next minute there is no one producing that commodity. This is largely due to the trend explained before, most farmers doing what someone else is already doing and then when the prices falls, they all abandon ship. We are all individuals and God made us with our own specific desires and ambitions. Our success stories are not the same.

The result is that there are a few success specialist farmers. Specialist farmers and agri-business that manage their farming enterprises well usually end up creating a name for themselves. Examples to note are Peter Cunningham of Highgrow, Big Brother Chicks, Mbokodo, Lake Harvest, Willsgrove, Irvines etc.

These have become big businesses because they focused and lingered on while everyone else came and went. And so the average farmer then wonders or concludes that it is because these big agribusiness players have money. Well that is true, they do have large capital available NOW for expansion but they did not start there. They all started off as small players, barely known in the field that they are in but they were determined to grow their brands and to be successful. Every passionate farmer has the potential to do so much more. As quoted once, “those that say I can and those that say they cannot”, they are both right.

It is the duty of every individual to contemplate and ponder upon what their true passion is. The process of self-discovery is greatly beneficial when it comes to strategising and to have a clear vision of what is to be achieved. That way the being-average syndrome can be eradicated.

The unquestionable beauty of a well-managed, passion driven business is that it grows. It cannot be deterred and it crushes down any competitors easily as new products are continuously unveiled and new strategies for marketing are constantly created. The trend or need to conform I suppose is part of our human nature, a behavioural trait that can work against us in some situations.

Conformity when it comes to business and functionality usually sadly works against innovation. True success lies in a passion and idea that serves to satisfy the general population interest and needs. Money will then follow the product developed or produced by the passion.

The writer is Eng Tapuwa Justice Mashangwa, Group CEO for Emerald International Consortium and CEO Emerald Agribusiness Consultancy. He can be contacted on +263 771 641 714 and email: [email protected]