Prime Minister Mr Ian Smith said yesterday that there was a big division between the European farmer and the African farmer, “and we must close this gap if we are ever to be successful in this country”.

Speaking at the Chibero College of Agriculture diploma day, the prime minister said agriculture in Rhodesia was of a high standard, but there were sectors of agricultural life that left much to be desired. On average, the maize production was five times higher on European land than on African land.

If African agricultural production could be doubled, it would mean a valuable injection into the national economy.

If the African farmer could be brought to the standard of the European farmer, it would mean an additional 30 million pounds to the agricultural industry.

“If the European can do it, I believe the African can do it as well, and in certain cases he has proved that he can.”

The prime minister said Rhodesia was behind in technical training facilities, and this included agriculture. This was something the Government had to face up to.

Referring to the 10 African graduates who were getting their diplomas, he said that if there were 100 of those instead of 10, it would be still too few.

He hoped Rhodesia would be able to produce more and more facilities to train Europeans and Africans “for the technical world in which we live”.

The graduates had a great responsibility as the guardians of the country’s soil.

The principal, Mr JW Walsh, said that the increase in numbers applying for the course had become an “avalanche”. For the next enrolment in October, there were more than 500 applications, of which 210 were known to be qualified for entry.

The chairman of the College advisory council, Dr BS Ellis, referred to the danger of soil erosion in some of the tribal trust areas.

It was essential that changes came from within — “from an evolutionary advance in standards of husbandry and from an understanding of the dire consequences of failure.

“Any imposed artificial solution, it seems to me, must fail in the face of interlocking tribal, social and traditional family customs.”

However, time was short and natural advance had to be speeded up by every known means.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Agriculture has always been the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy. The success of the sector is partly due to the good soils and a diligent workforce

Over the years, the agricultural sector has increasingly been professionalised in order to meet international standards.

The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 deprived blacks from having productive land other than those in rural areas, while the best land was for the few whites.

This disparity in land allocation between Europeans and Africans created a huge gap in terms of production of the different crops. Blacks remained in the smallholder farming sector, despite their capabilities, while whites were the commercial farmers.

There was need for equal opportunities in the allocation of best land so that everyone, whether Black or White fully contributed to the agricultural sector.

There is need for empirical research and publication regarding the political economy of agriculture during the colonial era versus Independent Zimbabwe, especially after the land reform programme.