Moffat Mungazi
Samuel Kadungure
News Editor
THOUGH Manicaland has made significant strides in maize production, surpassing its summer target of 265 000 hectares despite the late onset of the rainy season – more can still be done if those allocated farms, but have no capital to embark on meaningful production go into joint ventures to reach optimal production levels.
Government, through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development endorses the agreements to safeguard the interests of parties involved, and also ensure that there is transfer of practical skills to ensure continuity of production at the lapse of the JVs tenure.
A JV is an agreement between the farmer and an investor where the former provides the land, buildings and fixed equipment, while the latter provides services like capital, labour, technology, machinery and management expertise. It entails co-ownership of a business venture by the parties and sharing of financial risks, benefits and decision-making authority.
JVs that are being approved by Government are those crafted in a manner that allows the incumbent to learn all aspects of farming and supply chain systems to be able to sustain productivity at the expiry of the deal.
This is meant to capacitate farmers, who despite their huge potential on the farms, have not reached optimal production levels due to financial bottlenecks occasioned by financial institutions’ reluctance to extend loans to farmers.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka last Friday came face-to-face with one such lucrative arrangement during a provincial tour to assess the summer crop at Tiny Farm in Nyazura.
The joint venture is between Mr Fungai Makoni and Messrs Joseph Mujati and Mandeya, whose success demonstrates the potential for similar commercial deals to spur agricultural growth and improve food security in the country. The farm has 280 hectares of maize at late vegetative stage.
“Manicaland has made significant strides in maize production, surpassing its summer target of 265 000 hectares and reaching 270 000 hectares. We are pleased with the performance as we look at food security at two levels – national and household levels.
“We visited this joint venture undertaken by the youthful (Mr) Fungai Makoni to inspire youths as it showcases the potential for farming as a business.
With 1 550 hectares under various crops, this joint venture demonstrates how investing in farming can provide incentives for additional investments.
Farming can indeed be a business, and this approach is crucial for achieving food security and economic growth.
“We want our farmers to emulate and replicate this kind of arrangement. One may have land, and the other may have a business idea, and the two can form a JV like this one. With youths like him, Zimbabwe is in good hands. We need to look into the future with youths who know fundamentally that the land reform programme is irreversible, and never dream of the return of white farmers.
The land is with its owners, and the owners are with their land.
President Mnangagwa cemented this by the issuance of tittle deeds, which are more secure tenure documents, giving you the basis to invest in the land as collateral and pave the way for a prosperous agricultural future,” he said.
Through perseverance, hardworking, coupled with astute planning and hands-on management, Mr Makoni become an agripreneur.
He is proof that agriculture can be a gold mine for young people, contributing to producing enough quantity of nutritious food for the fast growing population using new modern farming technologies.
Mr Makoni quit his job as the chief executive officer of a luxury transport company to till the land in 2012, and his empire now straddles 1 500ha (Makoni), 3 000ha (Wedza) and 10 000ha in Masvingo.
“I used to be a bus operator, and quit to till the land and feed the nation. The country needs youths to feed the population. We had an approach to grow quickly, but it was very tough as no one would believe me as I lacked experience and finance. I started small (30ha) and grow each year until we transformed into a corporate so that we could put all the necessary structures and resources in place; hence the team is now bigger than me as an individual.
I am just a visionary,” said Mr Makoni.
His empire started with 30 hectares of tobacco at Chitora Farm in Headlands in 2012.
“The only land we own is Chitora Farm (300ha), but now, through JVs, in Makoni we have 1 550ha under centre pivot. We came to Tiny Farm in 2020 after engaging Mr Mujati, but then our pivots could not fit prompting us to negotiate uniform JV terms with Mr Mandeya. We now have centre pivots on both sides of the farm. We are operating seven farms in Makoni,” he said, adding that despite such growth, his business is under threat from shortage of irrigating water.
“When we moved here there were lots of underutilised dams, so we planned with that in mind, but with other farmers joining the fray, we ended up without irrigating water challenges. Last year we made a decision to draw water from Rusape River, which is about four kilometres, but were confronted with servitude challenges. I think we need to change the servitude policy because those on whose land you want to lay the pipeline have the final say and dictate the terms. They can deny you permission, and you may end up paying them to get them to allow you to lay an underground pipeline. The pipeline will draw water using gravity.
“Apart from maize, we also have 650ha of tobacco – 300ha in Makoni and 350ha in Wedza, and we also have about 5 000ha where we are developing irrigation in Masvingo, and by end of January 1 000ha will be fully developed,” he said.
Minister Masuka also directed ZINWA to facilitate conveyance of water from Rusape River to the farm, saying servitude should not be paid for.
“Servitude is not paid for. What you need to do is give them maps and letters telling them that water conveyance pipeline will pass through this route.
Zinwa will advise those people of the development because the water belongs to the President and the land is vested in the President, and what you are producing is meant to feed the nation,” he said.
Minister Masuka also toured 18 Pfumvudza plots at Mrs Tambudzai Nyagwaira’s homestead in Buhera, where he stressed that communal farmers must grow the right crop varieties for their agro-ecological zones, optimise planting dates, and explore techniques like mulching to conserve water and control weeds and pests.
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“Here in Buhera, we have seen what Pfumvudza can do. There are 18 plots here, and the farmer is delivering seven tonnes of maize per plot to GMB, which shows that even in rural areas farming can be a business if Pfumvudza principles are followed. We are happy that Manicaland has surpassed its target for maize which was 265 000 hectares, achieving 273 000 hectares of maize while other farmers have planted traditional grains. If this wet spell continues as predicted, we will surely be on our way of attaining national food security this season,” he said.
Mrs Nyagwaira is optimistic of a successful agriculture season having gone out of her way to irrigate her crop using drums so that it survives the dry spell.
“This is my fifth year since embracing Pfumvudza, and this year, I prepared 18 plots, six more than the 12 I had last year. Last year, I recorded seven tonnes per plot. This year there was less rainfall and I would fetch water using drums to irrigate my crops,” she said.
