The Final Nail
Commercial agriculture now dead in Zimbabwe

7^th November 2002

THE present sad wrangling in the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) marks an ignominious end to a century of progress and development. That this has been brought about by the actions of yet another unstable African dictator clinging to power is sad. It is, however, indicative of the problems facing all efforts at development and the alleviation of poverty on the continent.

It is my contention that real development can only take place when those involved are residents and citizens of a country. Foreign aid agencies and development programmes come and go, leaving nothing fundamentally changed.

A few local people get richer than they ever expected and a few foreigners acquire a good sun tan or some interesting tropical diseases. Otherwise, nothing changes. Often, matters get worse because naive foreigners often emphasise the growing of cash crops at the expense of food self-sufficiency.

In fact this seems very logical to them, since they all come from countries with cash economies. Cash crops are indeed vital in Africa, but only after a country is self-sufficient in food production.

Commercial agriculture is now dead in Zimbabwe. It has been stated that 95 percent of all commercial farms have been "seized", a polite euphemism for stolen and distributed to Zanu PF supporters. As most of these supporters are already wealthy it is obvious that they have no aptitude for farming, otherwise they would have bought and farmed their own land years ago.

Instead we see "cellphone farmers" who visit their acquired estates on weekends and holidays and have no conception at all as to what large-scale farming is all about. These farms will produce nothing, owned and run as they are by unqualified absentee landlords. Those farms that have been divided up into small plots will also not produce anything for the nation, because the new owners know nothing of even subsistence farming.

They may just be able to sustain themselves in a good year, though even this is very unlikely. Commercial agriculture is very different from small-scale or subsistence farming.

It is as different as a supermarket is from a tuckshop or rural store. Both have their place, both fulfil a need but they are very different. Some small-scale farmers may eventually graduate to larger farms, but the peasant farmers never will. It is commercial agriculture with its irrigation, fertiliser and crop management that produces the bulk of the food to feed the urban population. It is almost solely the producer of export cash crops such as tobacco, flowers, and paprika.

I admit to being a little confused as to what the retiring executive of the CFU thought they could achieve by negotiating with a group that has sworn to destroy them. Nearly 95 percent of all farms have been confiscated with no valid compensation, and they still want to negotiate? I hope that what they have done and are still doing was from honourable though possibly mistaken conviction, because to think otherwise would be a terrible indictment.

There will always be collaborators and sell-outs in any group; we can see them emerging now. I read recently of a farmer who thought he had made a "deal" with Elliot Manyika, only to have it all go horribly wrong. It is said that an honourable politician is a politician who when bought, stays bought.

The Mafia too is said to honour an agreement. Unfortunately our own politicians do not even live up to the ethical standards of la Cosa Nostra. Consequently, we will see an increasing number of farmers "dealing" with their local warlord in an effort to preserve their way of life. This situation is dangerous, because they become totally expendable.

There is talk of "profit-sharing" where the warlord takes an ever-increasing cut of the profit from the farmer who owns and works the farm. Elsewhere, this is called paying protection money. Some can do it, I cannot. I do not have the stomach for it.

The barefaced audacity is mind-boggling. Your property is stolen so that it can be given to the thief's supporters and you are expected to pay off your workers, made redundant by the very people who have stolen your livelihood!

It is a criminal offence to remove your own property because it must be preserved intact for the thieves! It is a criminal offence to burn down your own house in impotent rage, because it must be preserved so the thieves can move into it. It is now not possible even to take your machinery out of the country, bought and paid for by you, in order to start afresh in another country.

And what about the workers? Again the cunning of the "party" comes to the fore: make the farmer pay compensation to the workers so that they can have a huge party, get drunk or hire a bevy of women.

What about next year? What about the future? What about work in the future? The "party" knows full well that exceedingly few peasants think more than a day ahead. Nor do they.

Will these people be "given" any of the stolen land? They at least have worked the land. Not likely, as they are suspected of supporting the MDC and therefore a chance of a better life ahead.

As I see it, farmers now have three choices. Move, retire or deal. To move is difficult if you cannot take your machinery.

To retire may seem attractive, but with inflation heading for 1 000 percent how do you preserve the value of your money? You cannot invest it in the stock market because industry is collapsing. You cannot bank it because of the negative real interest rate.

Perhaps the best way is to turn it into real money and hang on to that? Of course, you can cut a deal if you have the stomach for it, but that has its hazards too. Those you are dealing with are 100 percent untrustworthy and you are very likely to end up losing everything anyway. Then there is the prospect of life after Zanu PF, when dealers are not likely to be looked upon kindly.

Personally, I would never let go of my title deeds, because in the long run they will establish legal ownership. The current "laws" are patently illegal and will not stand up in an international court or in the future, when the rule of law is restored. I am not sure whether legal action in Zimbabwe's courts has any validity, because many of the judges are accused of receiving stolen land. However, such action in respected foreign courts would indeed be a legitimate approach.

Daily News ( Zimbabwe ) - Leader Page