Fungai Dewere

HELLO, ZIMBABWE! El Niño is upon us again, threatening to cripple food production across Sub-Saharan Africa. I remember, not so long ago, proposing a programme of strategic farming in Zimbabwe. The idea was simple but far-reaching: identify strategic locations across the country, construct dams and irrigation infrastructure, and dedicate these areas to the production of specific crops that would guarantee national food security, regardless of rainfall patterns. I encountered considerable opposition from the political leadership in Mashonaland East, under the then Provincial Governor, Mrs Mutsverengwi, when I embarked on the construction of Churchill Dam. Today, we find ourselves in a familiar and unfortunate position: preparing to import food when we have the land, water resources and other productive assets that could be mobilised to feed our own people and, potentially, generate export surpluses. The problem is not necessarily a lack of resources. It is a lack of foresight, strategic planning and the political will to turn available resources into productive national assets. We seem to spend far too much time and energy on issues that offer little or no lasting benefit to our nation, while neglecting the fundamental question of how we secure our food supply and protect future generations. Sadly, Zimbabwe has yet to cultivate a sufficiently strong culture of reading, learning from experience and appreciating the importance of long-term planning. Those who have read my book, A Tale of Persecution and Betrayal, will understand precisely what I am referring to and the experiences behind these observations. Zimbabwe should not be finding itself repeatedly confronted with the prospect of importing food when it has the natural resources and agricultural potential to become a reliable food producer and a net exporter of agricultural commodities. Food security should never be an emergency response to drought. It should be a deliberate national strategy, supported by infrastructure, irrigation, research, technology and forward planning. A nation that knows when the next drought is coming should not wait for the drought to arrive before deciding what to do. It is deeply unfortunate that we continue to learn the same lessons, suffer the same consequences and repeat the same mistakes. Zimbabwe deserves better. Our people deserve better.