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Zimbabwe reported a bumper harvest of maize and other grains, capable of feeding the country’s 14.65 million people for next year.
According to Zimbabwe’s Second Crops and Livestock Assessment Report and the US Department of Agriculture, the estimated maize production for 2021 is 2.7 million tonnes. This maize yield is estimated to triple the 2020 harvest. The agricultural sector is expected to grow by 34% this year, more than three times the 11% projected in the budget given at the end of last year.
The International Monetary Fund reports that Zimbabwe is on the path to economic recovery with a 6% growth forecast this year, largely thanks to the maize harvest.
Zimbabwe was the main maize export destination for neighboring South Africa in the 2020/21 market year. Of the 2.6 million tonnes of maize exported by South Africa, about 20% went to Zimbabwe.
In May this year, Zimbabwe’s agricultural marketing authority announced a complete ban on maize imports, citing the bumper harvest and expected surpluses. The Zimbabwean government hopes to save around US $ 300 million from the ban. The 2019/20 season was plagued by drought and the country spent US $ 298 million on corn imports.
This year’s bumper harvest is a welcome development for Zimbabwe. But it is important to know what is behind this success and what challenges remain. Maize production is highlighted as a priority investment in Zimbabwe because of its strategic role in ensuring food security and as a raw material for agro-industrial processes. The crop is cultivated by over 90% of the country’s farming households and contributes 14% of the country’s agricultural gross domestic product.
Conductors
The country’s large production has been mainly attributed to favorable rainfall, supported by government programs that ensured that farmers had adequate inputs in time for the 2020/21 farming season.
Rains
Zimbabwe’s Department of Meteorological Services records indicate that the country has received largely normal to above normal precipitation over the past season. The production of maize and cereals by small farmers is mainly done through rain-fed agriculture.
But the climatic conditions cannot be controlled. Maintaining high yields over the long term is likely to require investments in water harvesting interventions as well as scaling up irrigation systems. Improved irrigation can provide smallholder farmers with resilience to the adverse effects of climate change.
Government programs
Government collaborations with non-governmental organizations, donor agencies and the private sector have led to various agricultural programs.
One of them is a program focused on the efficient use of resources (inputs and labor) on small plots of land. Known as Pfumvudza / Intwasa, it was widely promoted during the 2020/21 crop year. This agricultural concept aims to ensure food, nutritional and livelihood security at the household level.
The beneficiaries of the device had to prepare their land early, in time for inputs and planting. This technique addresses many of the limiting factors of past practices. For example, it requires less labor.
The approach can be used in marginal areas. According to Zimbabwe’s Second Agriculture Assessment Report, yields for smallholder farmers who practiced this approach were 5.28 t / ha compared to 1.16 t / ha for farmers who used tillage. conventional. Scaling up this technique for larger plots of land will require mechanization.
This and other government programs for smallholders can contribute to the sustainability and long-term growth of maize and grain production.
Large farmers have also benefited from the Command Agriculture program of subsidized inputs. The program lent farmers seeds, fertilizers, fuel and chemicals. It may also have contributed to overall production.
Zimbabwe has launched a strategy to transform agriculture and food systems in 2020 with the aim of creating an agricultural sector worth US $ 8.2 billion by 2025. The strategy is anchored in technologies climate smart, extension services and increased innovations. The government arrangements mentioned above are aligned with this strategy.
Challenges
But critics have pointed out that the centralized input subsidy scheme (command agriculture) has significant shortcomings and is unsustainable. Introduced for the first time during the 2016/2017 agricultural season, the device is structured around debt, the cost of which was estimated at $ 214 million in 2018.
The system does not appear to have measures in place to monitor and evaluate the use of inputs during the season. It does not guarantee loan repayment and debt collection from defaulting beneficiaries. In previous years, some farmers abused inputs by selling them on the black market.
In 2017, of the 50,000 smallholder and commercial farmers who benefited from the corn input program, more than 10,000 reportedly failed to deliver their produce to the Grain Marketing Board as required. This is largely because of the abuse of inputs and the reputation of the board of directors for long late payments.
Some of the yields do not reach the markets and food security measures are not enforced. This calls for political revisions.
This year’s success can be attributed to a combination of pilots. But to keep the momentum going, the Zimbabwean government faces the challenge of closing the remaining gaps.
Talent N Ndlovu, Tofara W Sammie, Abigal Mangena, Thulani Ndlovu and Brilliant Nkomo also contributed to this article.
Eness Paidamoyo Mutsvangwa-Sammie receives funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund through the African Research Universities Alliance Research and Innovation Partnership – UK.
By Eness Paidamoyo Mutsvangwa-Sammie, FSNet-Africa Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pretoria
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