Tapuwa Mashangwa
IT is a fact. Zimbabwe has worryingly become a market for cheap processed imports. The demise of her industry has created a supply gap, which foreign firms have not hesitated to seize. While a myriad of factors have contributed to the collapse of major manufacturing industries, low agricultural production experienced in the last decade or so has worsened the situation.
Experts have repeatedly pointed to the need to revitalise the agriculture sector as the backbone of a striving manufacturing industry. As a landlocked sovereign state located in southern Africa between Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, Zimbabwe has vast tracks of arable land, according to the World Bank.
Blessed with educated and experienced citizens across different disciplines one wonders why Zimbabwe remains a net importer of so many goods instead of producing its own. In January this year the government mobilised $260 million dollars for grain imports.
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) recently showed that imports to March amounted to $490 million against $167 million exports, which remain heavily skewed towards consumptive products following a significant drop in raw materials importation.
A United Kingdom-based research group, BMI Research, has predicted that Zimbabwe might remain a net importer of maize until at least 2020, as the country battles to overcome serious challenges facing its agricultural sector.
Seven representative manufacturing subsectors, namely clothing, furniture, food, beverages, engineering, leather and footwear, as well as agricultural inputs, were selected for ZimTrade’s research. One can clearly note that these subsectors have an agricultural base. Is it a question of lack of expertise for the production of various agricultural products? Is it that we are simply oblivious of the opportunities available?
Do we enjoy talking about how much opportunities are present and not do anything to exploit these chances? Is it because of lack of funding or lack of commitment from our part? Is it a lack of communication between agricultural companies and the farming community or lack of irrigation and farming equipment?
So many questions that need to be answered and if they are answered we can move forward into our prime light where we belong. According to Zimbabwe Investment Authority, agriculture contributes 15.5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
The sector is characterised by diverse investment opportunities ranging from the production of cash crops, production of strategic crops, mechanisation, horticulture and the upgrading of agricultural equipment and livestock.
These opportunities have the potential to boost the sector’s viability and feed into the local industry, which is currently facing challenges in sourcing major raw materials.
This scenario calls for prioritisation of irrigation farming development, livestock capacity building through small stock breeding and multiplication.
Zimbabwe should have more of such initiatives especially in Matabeleland provinces, which is a good area for livestock production.
Such initiatives should be buttressed by animal health extension services, dairy development projects, agro-processing or value addition, recapitalisation of the Cold Storage Company (CSC), aqua culture projects in places such as Binga as well as robust marketing.
Improved horticultural productivity in irrigation schemes, supporting the Grain Marketing Board’s contract farming and mechanisation programmes would yield the desired results.
If all these opportunities could be fully exploited, companies like African Distillers Limited, AICO Africa Limited, ART Corporation Limited, Border Timbers Limited, British American Tobacco Zimbabwe Limited, Cairns Holdings Limited, CFI Holdings Limited, Colcom Holdings Limited, Dairibord Holdings Limited, Delta Corporation Limited, Hippo Valley Estates Limited, and Hunyani Holdings Limited would benefit immensely.
Interfresh Limited, Seed Co Limited, Padenga Holdings Limited, National Foods Holdings Limited and United Refineries would also benefit and create more national employment opportunities and increase foreign currency earnings.
Commercial Farmers’ Union head Peter Steyls reported during their congress in 2015 that more efforts were required in harmonising regulation of agro-products and agro-inputs in the country.
He said this would address inefficiencies and bottlenecks in service delivery and increased transaction costs and unnecessary delays in waiting time for decisions to be made.
In some instances there is clear duplication of roles from one institution to the other.
A case in point is where an exporter intends to export agricultural commodities. Not less than five trips to various institutions and authorities must be made in order to get a final “Control of Goods” permit.
Zimbabwe needs an Agriculture Regulatory Authority, which houses all relevant regulatory institutions. Such a “One-Stop Shop” will contribute to reduced transaction costs, reduced waiting time, elimination of duplication of roles and ultimately, contribute to economic growth.
Because of the above highlighted loopholes we have deprived our secondary and tertiary industries of accessible, suitable and affordable raw materials opting instead for imports that depreciate in quality while crossing rough seas, as well as appreciating in prices while covering long distances.
It is high time that as a country we fully utilise the factors of production that include labour and the fertile land that we inherited from our ancestors.
The writer is Engineer Tapuwa Justice Mashangwa, a young entrepreneur based in Bulawayo, Founder and CEO of Emerald Agribusiness Consultancy. He can be contacted on +263739096418 and email:[email protected]