Tapuwa Mashangwa Agriculture Column
EDMUND Burke said, I quote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

It is a sincere phrase that holds great weight in all spheres of human existence and for relevance sake for our collapsing agricultural sector that I have faith can be revived to its former glory.

In Bill Gates blog entitled “Can the Asian miracle happen in Africa” he reviews a book by Joe Studwell How Asia works in which Studwell describes a three-step formula for a successful agricultural sector which are:

Creating conditions for small farmers to thrive; using proceeds from agricultural surpluses to build a manufacturing base that is tooled from the start to produce exports and nurture both these sectors (small farming and export-oriented manufacturing) with financial institutions closely controlled by the government.

“The first intervention — and the most overlooked — is to maximise output from agriculture, which employs the vast majority of people in poor countries. Successful East Asian states have shown that the way to do this is to restructure agriculture as a highly labour-intensive household farming — a slightly larger-scale form of gardening.

This makes use of all available labour in a poor economy, and pushes up yields and output to the highest possible levels, albeit on the basis of tiny gains per person employed.

The overall result is an initial productive surplus that primes demand for goods and services,” Studwell says.

We should also consider cluster or cooperative farming whereby farmers within the same location or region come together to farm the same crop to satisfy a demand market, to share equipment and or expertise, and also to exchange ideas and advise each other on new developments corresponding to their agricultural setup.

Not only does this concept work to target an export market but it also serves to assist those farmers that may have poor financial backing to solely embark on their desired agricultural project as money can be combined to purchase equipment that can be used on a rotationally scheduled basis.

An uncommon farming practice was recently mentioned to me called Portuguese farming that involves the partitioning of agricultural land to be utilised.

Instead of planting crops or rearing animals all at once in the desired field, seeds are planted with let’s say a two weeks or one month gap between planting and animals.

For example, chicks are bought with a one month gap between them. This will ensure that the relevant market is constantly supplied with the desired product henceforth producing higher cost-profit ratios as the product can compete for a prolonged period in comparison to those farmers that do not utilise the same concept.

One other great aspect and fact we seem to miss is that land cannot and should not be given to someone who lacks the skills and knowledge to farm but those trained in various projects.

It is beautiful to be given land but it is wiser to give land to someone who knows how the land can be best utilised thereby helping our agricultural sector to grow.

The training should cover; infrastructure, equipment and vehicle installations and maintenance; irrigation; alternative sources of energy (solar, aeolic, biogas gravitational and natural and simple methods of harnessing the natural light —for example in greenhouses.

Most farmers claim that the main challenge they face is that of funding.

However, this can be solved if farmers come together as a cooperative and collectively put the few assets they have and create a company through which they can apply for a loan from the bank.

There is more than one way to kill a bird!

A friend of mine always used to advise me to concentrate on the solution and not the problem.

The future is in our heart and it remains green.

The writer is Eng 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]