Masvingo Region Report for Congress 2010

To begin with I would like to ask you all to remember all the loved ones we have lost over the past year and to also pray for those whom we personally did not know who have passed on either at Pioneer Lodge or elsewhere. There are also so many others who have passed on this year, many being the widows of farmers and friends, who were farming in our province.

In particular please remember Kobus la Grange that used to farm at Chatsworth and amongst other things ran the very successful Chatsworth Sale Pens. Then there was Gordon Olds who was one of the original farmers in the Umshandike Valley going on to become one of the biggest, especially with his huge beef herd, which was scattered around the province. We also remember Dick Warren who ran the family farms just outside Masvingo. They were all very memorable characters indeed, who we will never forget.

With the older generation now slowly passing on it is now up to the next generation to take over and to proudly carry the flag of agriculture like their forefathers. Your Union is doing everything in its power to ensure that they will have a future in agriculture in Zimbabwe.

Many of our members have also been very ill which was undoubtedly caused by the stresses and strains of the last 10 years. We wish them well and hope to see you all soon – especially John and Joy Borland after John has received his kidney transplant. There is also Dr Stuart Hargreaves who has had so much positive influence in the marketing and development of our cattle and wildlife industries in the province, who is now in a similar position as John who are both now bravely battling to conquer their own illnesses.

A few months ago I was asked to prepare a list of how many farmers in the province are still able to either fully farm or farm on an agreed downsized portion of their original properties. The figure that came out was far more than I had expected! Disappointingly though, far too large a percentage of those were not paid up members of the Union. Whilst I do respect those who feel safer by operating below the radar let’s see what we can do to turn this around as soon as possible so that we can defend our heritage together.

Those few people who have been able to continue it has only been through sheer guts and determination and have had to make many sacrifices to succeed. Their life has not been easy but like all of us when we were farming – they have made a plan. They have done so because they have nothing else and they do not want to do anything else; or to leave the country; their homes and farms; as they are committed agriculturalists.

We have also seen some of our evicted farmers become involved with a number of NGOs in the province to offer mentorship on uncontested land. Although not the same as operating on one’s own investment they have adapted and enjoying this new challenge which at least keeps them close to their love of agriculture and the occupation in which they once thrived and enjoyed.

However, many of us have been evicted without any form of compensation. Some have moved into the towns and many of our friends and family have left the country completely and are now  scattered around the globe. In both cases some have made a change and adapted to their new environment and put all the horrible nightmares behind them. It has not been at all easy but we have survived – somehow.

What is of most concern to me though is the abject poverty many of our once highly productive farmers, their families and ex workers are now being subjected to. For many they are only able to survive from food handouts from the dwindling communities and their families.

Personally I have spent the last two years here at the Union where apart from very proudly representing our Masvingo farmers at the coal face I have busied myself helping out where I can and ensuring that my constituency has always been looked after – as best we can under the horrific circumstances we are still all enduring.

Thanks to the assistance from the European Commission in capacity building many of the tasks which

I was originally carrying out here have now been taken over by the very capable ARAC team and our in-house lawyer. I have therefore been able to concentrate more on of the very necessary work of recording the doom and gloom of the unfolding tragedy of what has happened to commercial agriculture over the last ten years and to form an information hub and an intricate database.

It is essential that what has happened is recorded in the greatest factual detail and in a form which may one day be used by a truth and reconciliation commission, or whatever purpose any future democratic government or courts may decide what the historical information should be used for.

In doing this we are fortunate in our province that we have more information recorded than in any other province, so once again Masvingo has led the way, thanks as always to our member’s  incredible cooperation. Although our structures only really exist in name and regular meeting have no longer been held at least the system is still working and I thanks my remaining chairmen Gary Warth and Francois de Kok for keeping the flag flying.

Clive Stockil has also done an incredible job with his pioneering work in the development of the first conservancies into which he has put a huge amount of time and work during his chairmanship of the Save River Valley Conservancy which lasted nearly 20 years! Not surprisingly he has recently decided to call it a day but has fortunately managed to persuade Richard Whittall to take over this most difficult task. My sincere thanks to both of you.

Although the commercial cane sector’s outgrowers’ production has all but collapsed Benoit Lagesse has still been looking after their interests and for this I sincerely thank him. We only have a few left on the Mpapa Section of Triangle but Triangle and Hippo continue to grow cane under their recently amalgamated group name. Mwanezana Development Corporation also continues to produce but the Mkwasine section is only growing on a minute portion of the original holding. Both also fall under the Triangle Corporation. The cane production of the beneficiaries has been sadly lacking and in fact in general the sugar yields have been down this year.

Whilst our sector’s production has been seriously affected by continued land acquisition, prosecutions and evictions Nuanetsi Ranch has received a huge capital investment through its involvement with Billy Rautenbach. He has developed what is undoubtedly the largest crocodile enterprise in the country and is making progress with his cane growing for his ethanol production venture. His cattle and wildlife ventures on the property are also progressing extremely well indeed. Needless to say his operation is an island of development and prosperity which is surrounded by ongoing destruction, impoverishment and looting of the once formidable agricultural industry in our province.

moratorium on prosecutions and evictions will soon bring an end to this senseless persecution of our white farmers.

It takes a lot of courage and finance to continue our defences in the courts and I would like to sincerely thank all the above and our farmers who just refuse to take it lying down. Although we may feel that these cases have been a waste of time this is not so because the time of reckoning is not too far away and each success will add great strength to any legal arguments, evidence or prosecutions against the perpetrators of the crimes which continue to be committed against us, our families and our workers.

There are still many of our farmers who have been defending their evictions in the courts and I must complement and thank our outstanding Masvingo legal team for the innovative new strategies they are constantly developing to keep us there on the ground. Also having full knowledge of our personal financial situations we also thank them for their leniency and compassion with regard to our outstanding legal bills.

As you are no doubt aware Vice President Charles Taffs has made a commitment to work towards the payment of meaningful compensation for those who no longer want to farm. Part of the proposal he has presented to government and embassies; donors etc contains the necessary element of security and funding for those who want to get back into farming. He and his team have been thoroughly innovative and have researched their subject well. Although there are many pros and cons covering both subjects nothing will be finalised until we are formally invited to sit around the table with a sincere and democratically elected government.

There have been some bitter arguments about what we should claim but by far the majority of people with whom I have discussed the matter are exhausted of the constant bickering and promises so they are generally happy to accept the Valuation Consortium method of claiming, which has already been tested in the Dutch case in Paris. They don’t want to spend the rest of their lives in court fighting for the very last cent. All they want is to be paid out for what they have lost as soon as possible and then to just get on with their lives – and put the horrible memories of the looting and barbarity behind them.

We have a large contingent of South African investors in our province who were initially attracted by Crawford von Abo’s courageous stand for his rights in the South African courts. However, many felt they could either not afford to meet the cost of a legal challenge or felt uneasy about taking on the government of the country of their birth.

Late last year the much delayed South African/Zimbabwe BIPPA finally became a reality. However there was an offending clause in the document which denied South Africans retrospective protection for previous investments in Zimbabwe. This was challenged by Vice President Louis Fick which resulted in a consent order being handed down in the High Court in Pretoria. Following on from this many South African citizens who have been farming in Zimbabwe have now rallied behind him as more court actions are planned to attain the recognition of their rights as South African citizens and to stimulate the payment of compensation for the losses of their investments.

Many of our Masvingo farmers therefore owe him a huge vote of thanks for his brave stand on their behalf. Negotiations are also underway for the elderly South Africans to come to an agreement about the payment of State pensions and/or accommodation in homes for the elderly in South Africa.

For those in our province who have still managed to hang on to small pieces of their farms the season did not start off too badly but there was a worrying mid-season drought which was a cause of great concern, particularly with the grazing for cattle and/or wildlife. However the rains restarted at Easter and some useful falls have been received, which has, thankfully boosted the grazing tremendously.

Surface water was and still is a problem as there was little runoff from the early and the late rains. Whilst there are still only a very few major commercial cattle breeders left the majority of those remaining farmers have turned to speculative buying and selling from the small-scale producers and settlers on our farms. Under the current haphazard settlement and ownership of properties there is very little chance of veld management which has done huge damage to both the natural resources as well as adversely affecting the condition of the cattle and being the main cause of the very low calving rates in the remaining herds. The fertility of the herds has also been adversely affected due to the lack of control in the herds and the straying of the settler’s, often poor quality and diseased cattle which mix freely with all commercial and pedigree herds.

Despite all this doom and gloom caused by the environment we are forced to live in it has always been good to see how incredibly some of our farmers have survived, whether on their farms or off. There is always a smiling face as they can always look at the brighter side of the situation.

For this I would like to sincerely thank the top team and the CFU staff in Harare for their solid commitment despite the constant tragedies they are experiencing in their own lives. They remain an inspiration to us all especially Hendrik, who despite being dragged through the mill this year has never wavered from his commitment to both the farmers and the Union. How he keeps going with his heavy workload we will never know. Thank you.

Deon, Charles and Louis have also been incredible and we must thank them for their sacrifice they have given on our behalf. But most of all we must all give thanks to all our families who have been incredibly supportive throughout our ordeal and encouraged us which has allowed us to spend so much time and effort on your behalf.

We can only stay committed and pray to the Lord for a better future in our industry and that our far reaching proposal on compensation and recovery becomes a true reality very soon.

Thank you