News / National
Keynote Address by the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, at the Agribusiness Forum
17 Oct 2011 at 11:53hrs | Views
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, South Africa Hon Joemat-Pettersson
Honourable Ministers here present
Business Leaders
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to be invited here to address this year's AgriBusiness Forum here in South Africa.
This is clearly a key event not only for those who wish to take part in investing in Africa's agriculture industry, but also for the Africans themselves for whom food has been a key demand in recent years.
The current starvation and acute food shortages especially in the Horn of Africa is a wake-up call on the need not only to take agriculture as a serious industry, but also to see how best we can marshall our collective effort to ensure none of humanity starves.
I am told the AgriBusiness Forum aims at strengthening the Agri-Food sector in Africa, by encouraging partnerships, exchanging best practices and attracting investment.
The programme is premised on the belief that the success of Africa depends on the development and growth of its private sector.
I notice that some of the objectives of this Forum include:
1. Attracting new public and private sector investment for Africa's Agri-Food Sector;
2. Driving the attention on the importance of Regional Value Chains; and,
3. Highlighting both public and private sector driven initiatives, among others.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am the eldest son of a bricklayer and rural farmer, hailing from a rural village in Zimbabwe and therefore can claim some knowledge on the importance of agriculture in the provision of food to an ordinary African family.
While as Africans we have traditionally concentrated on engaging in agriculture for domestic sustenance, there has been a huge development in the past few years which has seen many people engage in commercial agriculture.
This necessitates the need for training, skills retention and massive investment in the agricultural industry so that we not only build adequate reserves for national domestic use, but also that we may be able to boost exports and improve our economies.
I am well aware that a noxious combination of drought, failed harvests, a collapsed agricultural infrastructure and rising food prices have brought acute food shortages to Africa.
Changes to weather patterns in recent years have meant that farmers in Africa are increasingly facing challenges in predicting farming seasons.
And when the rains do come, whether there will be too little or too much rainfall – a failure which could have devastating consequences on agricultural production and food security in most African countries.
Success or failure in agricultural production, obviously has a direct bearing on food security. Therefore, discussion must be held to examine the key direct and indirect determinants and consequences of food insecurity in Africa.
Research has shown that there is global recognition that hunger and the cycle of poverty in Africa are two of the most significant development challenges that the world faces today.
Studies have also shown agriculture to be the most effective driver of growth in the world's poorest countries. Raising agricultural productivity is essential for reducing rural poverty, enhancing food security, and stimulating broad-based economic growth.
But why has Africa become poorer and food insecure despite having arguably the best agricultural land, water points and mineral wealth that the world envies?
I will provide a critical response to this pertinent probe using Zimbabwe as a case study.
Agriculture is the mainstay of Zimbabwe's economy but political instability, failure to access loans and a low financial liquidity position continues to threaten this key sector.
This means food security continues to be threatened and as government, we have to take urgent steps to ensure that there is food security in the country.
Food security in Zimbabwe remains a pressing issue with achievements at risk from a protracted dry spell which affected six out of ten provinces during the 2010/2011 season.
Rates for chronic and acute childhood malnutrition still stand at 35 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.
Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa until a wanton destruction of agricultural infrastructure when some political actors bastardised a noble land redistribution programme into a chaotic enterprise.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Zimbabwe was a reliable exporter of food to neighbouring countries.
During those years, horticulture, alongside tobacco, was one of the top consistent foreign currency earners for the country.
But the advent of the chaotic and violent land invasions decimated the sector and caused loss of confidence in agriculture as an industry.
The chaotic land reform programme left thousands of farm workers destitute and exposed downstream industry to severe shocks that collapsed the economic fabric of the once prosperous nation.
The nobility of land redistribution in Zimbabwe was never in doubt, but it became an avenue for avarice, looting and aggrandizement as chefs and the politically-connected grabbed farms for themselves, leaving former farm workers destitute and ordinary Zimbabweans crowded out of this national process.
Financial institutions that had supported agriculture for a long time were also left exposed as farmers failed to service loans advanced to them having been stripped of their assets. They all suffered for investing in agriculture.
Since then Zimbabwe has become a basket case and as government, our major challenge is to ensure that we support this critical sector by moving from the rhetoric of land redistribution to the practicality of land productivity.
I genuinely believe in supporting the empowerment of locals in the area of agriculture, but I believe in us going further that simply doling out a farm without title, without training, without markets and without downstream processing industries to enable beneficiation and value-addition to their products.
Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, we cannot have a progressive society by creating more peasants, without security of tenure on their land and without the relevant infrastructure to engage in meaningful agriculture that averts food insecurity.
And the question of support, the question of marketing, training of rural farmers and small-scale farmers, must become part of our new thrust to create the right conditions for an agriculture boom in Zimbabwe.
It is also imperative that we address out toxic politics by averting violence in the farming and rural areas, stopping new land invasions and instead concentrate on how best we can ensure productivity by our new farmers.
To kick-start the agricultural revolution, the transitional Government we established in 2009 following disputed 2008 elections, has agreed to finding a lasting solution to the land issue.
Land involves social, legal and economic relationships. That being the case, there should never be any ambiguity about land as a legal expression.
Property rights and title deeds must underpin the agrarian reform and therefore the constitution must recognize land and its ownership as a basic ground norm, which will be consistent with international conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.
These basic rights and norms in respect to title rights in agriculture have been consistently and violently violated over the past decade in Zimbabwe.
Unfortunately, Ladies and Gentlemen, this has driven agrarian investment elsewhere because no sane investor will pour their hard earned funds into a country where property rights are not guaranteed.
If land is a constitutionally protected human right, then its acquisition and distribution must also be a constitutional issue.
This means that the distribution of land for the public good must be totally de-politicised and must not be subject to the whims of an executive driven by political concerns.
I am aware that land re-distribution is an issue in many African countries. The task of distribution and acquisition must be entrusted to a Land Commission, duly set up by an Act of Parliament, whose majority members must be experts of integrity.
Therefore, constitutionality and the rule of law must be the basis on which any democratic government must resolve land ownership imbalances.
Accordingly, citizens share the fundamental right to the protection of their person and property and to be selected for settlement regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion or political opinions.
Without these guarantees, Distinguished Guests, attracting investment in this key sector will remain a pipe dream.
To entice investment into the critical sector, the Government must take the lead in demonstrating the importance of agriculture.
To resuscitate the decimated agriculture sector, the political agreement that led to the formation of the transitional Government in Zimbabwe dictates that we conduct a comprehensive, transparent and non-partisan land audit, during the tenure of the current Parliament, for the purpose of establishing accountability and eliminating multiple farm ownerships.
We have also committed to ensuring that all Zimbabweans who are eligible to be allocated land and who apply for it shall be considered for allocation irrespective of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or political affiliation, to ensure security of tenure to all land holders and above all, to work together for the restoration of full productivity on all agricultural land.
The agricultural sector remains one of the key sectors of the Zimbabwean economy. To that extent it is therefore critical for government to create a conducive environment and policy framework to maintain sustainability of this key sector.
In this regard the Government has since 2009 ensured meaningful financing to agriculture together with the private sector and cooperating partners.
Between 2009 and 2011, the Inclusive Government together with international partners and private financiers have committed a total of US$1.9 billion into the agricultural sector. Budgetary support on its own has totaled US$552 million.
Government finance alone has risen from US$79 million in 2009 to the projected US$248.2 million in 2011.
Government has committed itself to mobilize and coordinate banks, development partners, seed houses, farmers unions, fertilizer companies as well as individual farmers to put in place the necessary financing arrangements for the 2011/2012 Summer Cropping Season which will target 500 000 vulnerable farmers including 100 000 vulnerable households and will be complemented by cooperating partners.
I am aware of the existence of vulnerable farming groups in the country in particular communal farmers and therefore, I believe that Government has a responsibility to support these vulnerable farmers.
However, I am deeply saddened and disappointed by the skewed nature of distribution of inputs and the use of inputs and food as a campaign tool by some of our partners in this coalition government.
Among other things we are calling for is the compensation to the former owners of commercial land in Zimbabwe and clear and immediate legislation on maximum sizes of farms.
There must be legislation confirming the principle of one family one farm in respect of all land that was subject to the land reform program.
There must be creation of proper financing structures for agriculture that are primarily dependent on private capital, banks and other farming interests.
Proper market mechanisms for agricultural commodities should be promoted.
Clearly a commodities exchange is required and in future a Grain Exchange. The current model where the Grain Marketing Board is used as a buyer of first resort instead of a buyer of last resort is unworkable and unsustainable.
The State cannot and should not fix pre-planting prices for any commodity. This creates distortions and causes an unsustainable burden on the State.
We certainly need to inject massive investment in Research and Extension Services, particularly in light of global warming and climate change which have redesigned and reshaped the face of agriculture globally.
Equal treatment must be given to all forms of agriculture that is those that are producing grains and those involved in livestock.
Automation and mechanization of agriculture, value addition to all agricultural commodities and agro-processing must be at the epicenter of our new thrust in agriculture.
The State, through Public Private Partnerships and Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOTs) must develop supportive infrastructure that include energy, roads and water. Water and energy in particular are critical in liquidating rural poverty and the exploitation and under development of women.
In the absence of any contrary scientific research, the State should carefully embrace GMO technology in agriculture.
But any plans for improving agriculture depend on improving the technical, economic, legal and trade conditions under which farmers and agribusinesses must operate.
There is a need, therefore, to understand that rural production, involving both agri-industry and peasant agriculture, can do more than urban industry if properly planned and supported.
The question is one of effectiveness, not the gross number of workers in any sector.
I am a firm believer in the need for boosting rural infrastructure and productivity in rural and small-scale agriculture.
By the way, as I mentioned earlier, I come from a small village in the eastern part of the country and I have a passion for the success of the ordinary small-scale farmer!
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my humble submission that investment opportunities exist in the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe and many other African countries.
It is also my humble submission that Africa can feed the whole world if our policies are in sync with international best practices and if our governments commit to transforming agriculture into a viable industry.
I leave with you with the challenge to come up with practicable recommendations and resolutions that may influence the development of prudent agricultural policies in our Africa as a precondition to ensuring food security.
But it would be remiss of me to miss this opportunity to call upon all of you here to support a peaceful transition to a legitimate government in Zimbabwe.
Agricultural production and investment are also sensitive to politics and I urge you to pray for a peaceful, violence-free election in Zimbabwe; a free and fair election that will yield a peaceful nation where ordinary citizens are free to pursue and live their dreams.
The people of Zimbabwe look forward to your prayers and your support in that regard.
I thank you.
Honourable Ministers here present
Business Leaders
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to be invited here to address this year's AgriBusiness Forum here in South Africa.
This is clearly a key event not only for those who wish to take part in investing in Africa's agriculture industry, but also for the Africans themselves for whom food has been a key demand in recent years.
The current starvation and acute food shortages especially in the Horn of Africa is a wake-up call on the need not only to take agriculture as a serious industry, but also to see how best we can marshall our collective effort to ensure none of humanity starves.
I am told the AgriBusiness Forum aims at strengthening the Agri-Food sector in Africa, by encouraging partnerships, exchanging best practices and attracting investment.
The programme is premised on the belief that the success of Africa depends on the development and growth of its private sector.
I notice that some of the objectives of this Forum include:
1. Attracting new public and private sector investment for Africa's Agri-Food Sector;
2. Driving the attention on the importance of Regional Value Chains; and,
3. Highlighting both public and private sector driven initiatives, among others.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am the eldest son of a bricklayer and rural farmer, hailing from a rural village in Zimbabwe and therefore can claim some knowledge on the importance of agriculture in the provision of food to an ordinary African family.
While as Africans we have traditionally concentrated on engaging in agriculture for domestic sustenance, there has been a huge development in the past few years which has seen many people engage in commercial agriculture.
This necessitates the need for training, skills retention and massive investment in the agricultural industry so that we not only build adequate reserves for national domestic use, but also that we may be able to boost exports and improve our economies.
I am well aware that a noxious combination of drought, failed harvests, a collapsed agricultural infrastructure and rising food prices have brought acute food shortages to Africa.
Changes to weather patterns in recent years have meant that farmers in Africa are increasingly facing challenges in predicting farming seasons.
And when the rains do come, whether there will be too little or too much rainfall – a failure which could have devastating consequences on agricultural production and food security in most African countries.
Success or failure in agricultural production, obviously has a direct bearing on food security. Therefore, discussion must be held to examine the key direct and indirect determinants and consequences of food insecurity in Africa.
Research has shown that there is global recognition that hunger and the cycle of poverty in Africa are two of the most significant development challenges that the world faces today.
Studies have also shown agriculture to be the most effective driver of growth in the world's poorest countries. Raising agricultural productivity is essential for reducing rural poverty, enhancing food security, and stimulating broad-based economic growth.
But why has Africa become poorer and food insecure despite having arguably the best agricultural land, water points and mineral wealth that the world envies?
I will provide a critical response to this pertinent probe using Zimbabwe as a case study.
Agriculture is the mainstay of Zimbabwe's economy but political instability, failure to access loans and a low financial liquidity position continues to threaten this key sector.
This means food security continues to be threatened and as government, we have to take urgent steps to ensure that there is food security in the country.
Food security in Zimbabwe remains a pressing issue with achievements at risk from a protracted dry spell which affected six out of ten provinces during the 2010/2011 season.
Rates for chronic and acute childhood malnutrition still stand at 35 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.
Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa until a wanton destruction of agricultural infrastructure when some political actors bastardised a noble land redistribution programme into a chaotic enterprise.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Zimbabwe was a reliable exporter of food to neighbouring countries.
During those years, horticulture, alongside tobacco, was one of the top consistent foreign currency earners for the country.
But the advent of the chaotic and violent land invasions decimated the sector and caused loss of confidence in agriculture as an industry.
The chaotic land reform programme left thousands of farm workers destitute and exposed downstream industry to severe shocks that collapsed the economic fabric of the once prosperous nation.
The nobility of land redistribution in Zimbabwe was never in doubt, but it became an avenue for avarice, looting and aggrandizement as chefs and the politically-connected grabbed farms for themselves, leaving former farm workers destitute and ordinary Zimbabweans crowded out of this national process.
Financial institutions that had supported agriculture for a long time were also left exposed as farmers failed to service loans advanced to them having been stripped of their assets. They all suffered for investing in agriculture.
Since then Zimbabwe has become a basket case and as government, our major challenge is to ensure that we support this critical sector by moving from the rhetoric of land redistribution to the practicality of land productivity.
I genuinely believe in supporting the empowerment of locals in the area of agriculture, but I believe in us going further that simply doling out a farm without title, without training, without markets and without downstream processing industries to enable beneficiation and value-addition to their products.
Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, we cannot have a progressive society by creating more peasants, without security of tenure on their land and without the relevant infrastructure to engage in meaningful agriculture that averts food insecurity.
And the question of support, the question of marketing, training of rural farmers and small-scale farmers, must become part of our new thrust to create the right conditions for an agriculture boom in Zimbabwe.
It is also imperative that we address out toxic politics by averting violence in the farming and rural areas, stopping new land invasions and instead concentrate on how best we can ensure productivity by our new farmers.
To kick-start the agricultural revolution, the transitional Government we established in 2009 following disputed 2008 elections, has agreed to finding a lasting solution to the land issue.
Land involves social, legal and economic relationships. That being the case, there should never be any ambiguity about land as a legal expression.
Property rights and title deeds must underpin the agrarian reform and therefore the constitution must recognize land and its ownership as a basic ground norm, which will be consistent with international conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.
These basic rights and norms in respect to title rights in agriculture have been consistently and violently violated over the past decade in Zimbabwe.
Unfortunately, Ladies and Gentlemen, this has driven agrarian investment elsewhere because no sane investor will pour their hard earned funds into a country where property rights are not guaranteed.
If land is a constitutionally protected human right, then its acquisition and distribution must also be a constitutional issue.
This means that the distribution of land for the public good must be totally de-politicised and must not be subject to the whims of an executive driven by political concerns.
I am aware that land re-distribution is an issue in many African countries. The task of distribution and acquisition must be entrusted to a Land Commission, duly set up by an Act of Parliament, whose majority members must be experts of integrity.
Therefore, constitutionality and the rule of law must be the basis on which any democratic government must resolve land ownership imbalances.
Accordingly, citizens share the fundamental right to the protection of their person and property and to be selected for settlement regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion or political opinions.
Without these guarantees, Distinguished Guests, attracting investment in this key sector will remain a pipe dream.
To entice investment into the critical sector, the Government must take the lead in demonstrating the importance of agriculture.
To resuscitate the decimated agriculture sector, the political agreement that led to the formation of the transitional Government in Zimbabwe dictates that we conduct a comprehensive, transparent and non-partisan land audit, during the tenure of the current Parliament, for the purpose of establishing accountability and eliminating multiple farm ownerships.
We have also committed to ensuring that all Zimbabweans who are eligible to be allocated land and who apply for it shall be considered for allocation irrespective of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or political affiliation, to ensure security of tenure to all land holders and above all, to work together for the restoration of full productivity on all agricultural land.
The agricultural sector remains one of the key sectors of the Zimbabwean economy. To that extent it is therefore critical for government to create a conducive environment and policy framework to maintain sustainability of this key sector.
In this regard the Government has since 2009 ensured meaningful financing to agriculture together with the private sector and cooperating partners.
Between 2009 and 2011, the Inclusive Government together with international partners and private financiers have committed a total of US$1.9 billion into the agricultural sector. Budgetary support on its own has totaled US$552 million.
Government finance alone has risen from US$79 million in 2009 to the projected US$248.2 million in 2011.
Government has committed itself to mobilize and coordinate banks, development partners, seed houses, farmers unions, fertilizer companies as well as individual farmers to put in place the necessary financing arrangements for the 2011/2012 Summer Cropping Season which will target 500 000 vulnerable farmers including 100 000 vulnerable households and will be complemented by cooperating partners.
I am aware of the existence of vulnerable farming groups in the country in particular communal farmers and therefore, I believe that Government has a responsibility to support these vulnerable farmers.
However, I am deeply saddened and disappointed by the skewed nature of distribution of inputs and the use of inputs and food as a campaign tool by some of our partners in this coalition government.
Among other things we are calling for is the compensation to the former owners of commercial land in Zimbabwe and clear and immediate legislation on maximum sizes of farms.
There must be legislation confirming the principle of one family one farm in respect of all land that was subject to the land reform program.
There must be creation of proper financing structures for agriculture that are primarily dependent on private capital, banks and other farming interests.
Proper market mechanisms for agricultural commodities should be promoted.
Clearly a commodities exchange is required and in future a Grain Exchange. The current model where the Grain Marketing Board is used as a buyer of first resort instead of a buyer of last resort is unworkable and unsustainable.
The State cannot and should not fix pre-planting prices for any commodity. This creates distortions and causes an unsustainable burden on the State.
We certainly need to inject massive investment in Research and Extension Services, particularly in light of global warming and climate change which have redesigned and reshaped the face of agriculture globally.
Equal treatment must be given to all forms of agriculture that is those that are producing grains and those involved in livestock.
Automation and mechanization of agriculture, value addition to all agricultural commodities and agro-processing must be at the epicenter of our new thrust in agriculture.
The State, through Public Private Partnerships and Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOTs) must develop supportive infrastructure that include energy, roads and water. Water and energy in particular are critical in liquidating rural poverty and the exploitation and under development of women.
In the absence of any contrary scientific research, the State should carefully embrace GMO technology in agriculture.
But any plans for improving agriculture depend on improving the technical, economic, legal and trade conditions under which farmers and agribusinesses must operate.
There is a need, therefore, to understand that rural production, involving both agri-industry and peasant agriculture, can do more than urban industry if properly planned and supported.
The question is one of effectiveness, not the gross number of workers in any sector.
I am a firm believer in the need for boosting rural infrastructure and productivity in rural and small-scale agriculture.
By the way, as I mentioned earlier, I come from a small village in the eastern part of the country and I have a passion for the success of the ordinary small-scale farmer!
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my humble submission that investment opportunities exist in the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe and many other African countries.
It is also my humble submission that Africa can feed the whole world if our policies are in sync with international best practices and if our governments commit to transforming agriculture into a viable industry.
I leave with you with the challenge to come up with practicable recommendations and resolutions that may influence the development of prudent agricultural policies in our Africa as a precondition to ensuring food security.
But it would be remiss of me to miss this opportunity to call upon all of you here to support a peaceful transition to a legitimate government in Zimbabwe.
Agricultural production and investment are also sensitive to politics and I urge you to pray for a peaceful, violence-free election in Zimbabwe; a free and fair election that will yield a peaceful nation where ordinary citizens are free to pursue and live their dreams.
The people of Zimbabwe look forward to your prayers and your support in that regard.
I thank you.
Source - MDC Information & Publicity Department
