via White farmers knew what to do says Muzenda | The Zimbabwean 24 June 2014 by Regerai Tukutuku
A senior government official has be-moaned the loss of white farmers displaced by the government under its chaotic and corrupt land “reform” programme.
Addressing villagers in Gutu last week Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Tongai Muzenda, who is also the son of the late Vice President Simon Muzenda, said former white farmers had skills and knew well the types of farming which suited particular areas in the country.
“The former white farmers knew what they were doing and this area of Gutu West used to have a herd of close to 60,000 – but now all is history. We want to return to those golden days when the country was among the best beef producers and exporters in southern Africa,” said Muzenda, the MP for Gutu West.
“The former white farmers knew very well that there is no crop you can produce in this part of the country hence they concentrated on cattle production,” said Muzenda. “We have to find ways of reviving cattle production in Gutu’s Chatsworth area by ensuring that each family has at least two heifers for breeding,” he said.
Agricultural minister Joseph Made said recently his ministry had engaged the European Union with the aim of regaining its beef export quota.
“We have engaged in high level talks with the EU so that we start exporting our beef and I am happy with the progress we have made so far,” said Made. Exports were stopped 10 years ago as the country was unable to fulfil its quota due to several factors including the decimation of the national herd that followed the land invasions and uncontrolled foot and mouth disease.
The country used to export the meat through the Cold Storage Company, which is on the verge of total collapse due to serious financial problems.
COMMENTS
I’m sure there are many black farmers who know what to do and how to farm but are not allowed to due to political interference
Muzenda, you seem to be at odds with Mujuru who said white farmers were mere ‘play actors’ You two need to get your story straight
As opposed to crooked.
Of course they knew what to do. They understood the business side of farming & by forcing them off the land & not training the new occupants about the intricacies involved in farming, that directly led to a collapse of agricultural sector.I find it hard to believe this was done with any genuine care for the poor masses, but it was more of a vendetta against the white farmers. Now most of the people that took over these farms are worse off than they were before this all started.Unemployment is higher, more people are starving, clean water is scarce, electricity is scarce. What a mess!
Shamu, really? If you were kicked out of your home with nothing, had everything you had worked for all your life stolen – would you hang around to train the thieving swine? They took over going concerns that were profitable and raped them of all moveable assets. The “person” who grabbed our farm had worked her way through 14 farms and turned them into deserts, finally settling on weekends only, in the master homestead. This is land reform? I don’t think so.
Don’t 4get u had stolen the farms in the 1st place. Jus sayin
Old and silly comment. These farmers bought their farms with Mugabe and Zimbabwe’s blessing. Paid for them, seems you are one of those that take without paying – its called theft and look where it got you!!!
If I see that you have something(land in this case)that you don’t know what to do with it and I got the resources and knowhow to farm it, is it a crime if I steal it as in (trick you to give it to me) and make it productive for both me(the thief) and you (previous owner) as well as the country. Am just thought provoking.
Timba you are an idiot, many farms where bought after independence by young white farmers who identified them selves as Zimbabweans not Rhodesians. There was nothing stopping a black man buying a farm and some did, the rest of the thieves just stole one. Too late for the idiots in power to cry over spilt milk, the national heard is decimated there is no going back. All those skills they are winging about are now are well and truly lost.
@ Timba Why do ignorant people like you comment on a subject you obviously know very little about.Ever heard of ‘certificates of no interest’ issued by this very government? Now we can’t feed ourselves.
Muzenda who said baboons vote for ZANU. He was right at least in that
Muzenda will be looking for another job with these racist statements
Wakey Wakey and compensation
SIMPLE LIKE THE FATHER!
There are simply two sides to agriculture – commercial farming where you farm to make a profit and subsistance farming where you farm to provide for you & your family.
Zimbabwe has never been able to understand the difference between the two.
Just supporting you Biggie.
An also good analogy is someone who “nama mapoto” i.e. mend pots through the surbabs shouting the same as compared to a producer of pots (Kango etc). Both can survive and do their jobs well but the two types and models of businesses are totally different. Just because “nama poto” can do an excellent job mending pots and survive well doing that does not mean he can run a pot manufacturing company.
“Agricultural minister Joseph Made said recently his ministry had engaged the European Union with the aim of regaining its beef export quota.”
And what pray will we export to them – Mujuru Flies?? We certainly no longer have any excess high quality Beef!!
My suggestion is that the Minister of Agriculture should be named Joseph Mad – just leave the e off. It fits!
So it took 34 years for Zimbabwean finest to realise white farmers knew what they were doing?
Maybe in another 34 years they will have a clue about what they do themselves.
Please add me to your mailing list.
Everyone, except Zanu, knows what crop grows where. When travelling along Masvingo Rd you notice the new farmers trying to grow maize etc on what were former ranches. It’s obvious that’s a recipe for starvation. It seems what is common sense is lacking in this stupid and idiotic party,Zanu.
Just chop down the trees sell the wood try to plant a few mellies clear the grass and in two years you have a piece of dirt with no vegetation. Move to the next plot do the same. Take a citrus farm like Mazoe, cut down the fruit trees clear tHe grass plant a few rows of corn after two years piece of dirt move to the next farm etc and so on and so on. No clue fools. Those that try to grown commercially – steal a viable farm, steal the tractors, steal the trailer, steal the water pump plant some maize after two years too much like hard work and the idiots probably by then have broken the pump broken the tractor and broken the trailer move onto another white owned farm and start again. Useless clueless so called farmers. Never will be able to feed themselves.
Most of the farms were bought after 1980?? stolen from where??
The CSC collapsed a long time ago.When did anyone last see a CSC truck delivering beef or a CSC stamp on a beef rump??
Kikiki. A more appropriate question is when was the last time I saw a rump steak. Kuseka nhamo kunge rugare.
OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES NOW REAPING THE BENEFITS OF WELCOMING HIGHLY SKILLED WHITE ZIMBABWEAN FARMERS….FROM GHANA TO ZAMBIA…HAHAHAHA EVEN EXPORTING MAIZE GROWN BY EX ZIMBOS BACK TO ZIMBO LAND????????READ MICAH 2 V1-7 AND SEE WHAT AWAITS THOSE WHO STOLE OTHERS FIELDS AND HOMES…..CRY BELOVED ZIMBABWE CRY….ONLY THE LORD CAN SAVE US IF WE TURN FRM OUR WICKED WAYS….TOO MUCH FORGIVENESS NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE IN ZIMBABWE!!!!!
Correction….white Zimbabwean Farmers. Love is what we don’t have as Zimbabweans, I think it’s an area where as ,” Christian Nation” (as we call ourselves) we should read the bible and take God seriously at His word. Love your neighbor as you love yourself….or where it says , ” everyone who loves is born of God” …on this the opposite is true….We didn’t take the whites as our neighbors neither did we love them as we love ourselves. God put different people at different geographical places for a good reason, but if we act God and try to correct God the results are obvious. All we needed was redistribute land accomodate the ones already on the ground and move on. From the President to toddlers, we all claim to be Christians. We did it the wring way with the wrong motives and produced the wrong results.
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.
Aristotle