Tapuwa Justice Mashangwa Agriculture Column
IN Zimbabwe those involved in the farming sector are easily classifiable in to three categories: the landowner, the farmer and the agribusiness person. The landowner: This person just owns land. That is it. It is lying idle and not a single thing is being done on their land. Times passes and the land remains untouched just existing beneath the sun.

There is the farmer. This is a person who plants some crop or rears animals for subsistence purposes and then once in a while sells the extras obtained.

Lastly you have your agribusiness person – the rarest player in the agricultural sector and the most important player in the agricultural sector because this person helps build the economy, create employment and sustain countless households were food security is concerned.

Despite all three being different there is one common trait- the manner in which they got access to the land.

It was inherited, bought, obtained through the government for a 99-year leasing period or given as a present or reward for some task completed.

Now, the crisis we face in Zimbabwe is that we have enthusiastic potential participants and participants in agriculture that are basically potential landowners and farmers.

Very few ever make it to being agribusiness people. That is a level requires thinkers and action takers, those that are not afraid to try new methods of farming, those that believe and work towards exporting their produce, those that look at an empty piece of land and are inspired because they know in their hearts that great potential lies there and the possibilities of growth are endless.

They think about the employment they create, the harvest or profit they will make, and even know what they will be planting five years down the line and can clearly envision how to go about this.

The main status quo that separates great people from the rest are three things – God, opportunity/timing and hard work.

Not everyone was born to be a farmer. Agriculture requires passion. One does not work on 50 hectares of land all year round just because they want to make money.

The passion for money will eventually run out somewhere along the way if not, it will have led you into legal problems by then.

Agriculture requires opportunity. One either searches for these opportunities or creates them for themselves.

When I say opportunities I am referring to timing: being able to select the right crop at the right time. Most agricultural participants just jump onto a piece of land to start growing whatever comes off the top of their head.

Which is very wrong approach altogether and can only lead to losses of money, or property especially if it was put up as collateral to obtain money from a financial institution to finance their project.

There is a reason why there are people called agricultural or agribusiness consultants. These people are there to help agricultural participants reach their potential.

Most of them are quite affordable and there are NGOs like SNV, ORAP, World Vision and various government institutions like AGRITEX and agricultural organisations like the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU), the Young Farmers Association of Zimbabwe (YFAZ), Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) and so many others that can assist where farming is concerned.

Participants also need to understand that to undertake any agricultural project research is mandatory. To succeed one must always research. Failure to research is simply playing dice games with time and money. A soil test is the first thing to do and then research on the market performance, requirements and demand, then finally comes the selection of the project to undertake.

The common mistake done here in Zimbabwe is that participants start with the market. They look at what is there and simply assume that the agricultural produce they find on market is what people need and they should grow or rear it.

I would like to simply ask: If it is there on or in the market, doesn’t that clearly show it is available hence if you grow or rear the same thing will you not be clearly setting yourself up for a loss or low profits? I believe all of us can answer that!

There are so many agricultural projects people can undertake but what happens…we would rather play follow the leader in agriculture and plant maize, beans, peanuts, cabbages, tomatoes and onions like those are the only things that constitute agriculture and rear cows, pigs and goats like those are the only animals people are interested in buying/consuming.

There is so much more the world has to offer. We just need to grab the opportunities lying idle and waiting to be exploited. Specialisation, effectiveness and efficiency bring about the best results. As our motto says “the future is green”.

The writer is Tapuwa Justice Mashangwa, a young entrepreneur based in Bulawayo, founder and CEO of Emerald Agribusiness Consultancy. He can be contacted on +263739096418 or email: [email protected]