Zimbabwean Farmers:  What is Kwara State up to? A Rejoinder to MOU with Zimbabwean Farmers

By

Hameed Jibril 

ajibrilo@yahoo.com.au

Zimbabwean Farmers: What is Kwara State up to? I have tried in the last couple of months to understand what I saw as a new development in which the Federal government and some states, in particular Kwara State, were trying to do by relocating certain Zimbabwean farmers that have been displaced by the crisis in Zimbabwe. Recent media reports have however forced one to raise the issue in a public forum and see what Nigerians themselves think about it as I noticed that no comments had yet been made.
Here is my little take on some of the related issues.

While I understand the economic rationale involved in the exercise, I have to say that I am concerned and even rather skeptical of the benefits that these so called "pioneers" would afford the local farmers and the primary industry they will supposedly be engaged in, agriculture. One understands the need for our local agricultural sector to be further developed both with financial support and the application of modern technology and all that comes with it, what I fail to however comprehend is the role these private Zimbabwean farmers have in this regard.

I do not want to sound like an "alarmist", but we all continue to see what Zimbabwe has faced as a result of this crisis. Large parts of rich arable land (some say more than 75 percent) had been in the hands of the settlers who had used the produce from the land to become very wealthy. Coupled with this was the use of the cheap local labour that Zimbabwean farmhands provided for some of these farmers. The resultant effect was when this land was eventually put up for redistribution (you could argue whether nepotism and corruption played a part) and when the settler farmers who had monopolized food production left, the country was plunged into a serious food crisis.

It was possible to see that no transfer of farm management expertise had been passed to the local population. Television reports showed a local population that was not any better of than "sweat shop" workers in other developing countries. The western media went on to portray the settler farmer as the caring, hardworking "messiah" whose main concern was providing food and a means of livelihood for the farmhands, as if the farmer was almost on a humanitarian mission rather than running a highly lucrative business and these locals were ungrateful people who couldn’t feed themselves if left alone. It was very arrogant, patronizing and the sad thing was some of these farmers did not even realize it. These so called "pioneers", either as descendants of those who had taken unfair advantage of countries such as Zimbabwe or had been influenced by the South African experience in the apartheid era had come to see the local farmhands as merely that, farmhands. People that could not be able to rise above their lot and could be used. Are these the type of people we want owning rich arable land in Nigeria.

The other issue is, and usually common with big business is local political involvement. The concern that these settler farmers would want to protect their business interests in whatever way possible is not unfounded and is to be expected. However, to what extent is this possible involvement to be and how disruptive it might be is an issue that we will really have to address.

While one cannot generalize and I am sure that there are good farmers from Zimbabwe who would want to give something back for what they receive in this venture, I however feel the governments of these states and the Federal government should take a more cautious approach in inviting these farmers in. Yes, we need foreign investment in that sector and transfer of technology but if we are to invite people in, it should be on our own terms and in a manner that would benefit our local farmers from partnerships, joint ventures and other knowledge/expertise sharing participations. The authorities in these states and the Federal Government should outline what concrete benefits that are to be achieved, especially by local farmers, and a proposed timeline for their achievements. We all want what is best for Nigeria and her economy to which agriculture remains vital. We should however, as some say, "pedal it soft" and not readily give away to foreign private enterprise that black earth that would be a source of life for many generations of Nigerians to come.