In terms of soil fertility, Zimbabwe has optimal conditions for agricultural production. In many places, however, there is a lack of water. This has visibly improved thanks to investments in water storage projects. What does this mean for the population's food problems? How is this issue linked to the current political situation?
Before the failed agricultural revolution of then President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe was considered the breadbasket of Africa. This only referred to agricultural production, but not to the food situation in Zimbabwe at the time. The huge export profits of the farmers were in stark contrast to the shortage of food for the local population. However, the restructuring of agriculture was disorganized and resulted in a redistribution of agricultural wealth to the ruling clique. However, this clique was then unable to utilize the agricultural potential and certainly unwilling to use it to improve the living standards of the population. Huge areas of farmland were sold off or turned into primitive and uneconomical allotments for the poor and starving population. In many regions, the UN had to provide direct aid in the form of agricultural products imported from Europe or the USA. The political conditions made it impossible to make urgently needed investments in the agricultural sector. The current government has since initiated corrective measures. Former expropriated landowners have been promised compensation in a rather symbolic manner or - with a greater chance of success - offered private usage rights, e.g. for 99 years.
The current President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, enthuses on Twitter: "We are experiencing an agricultural revolution! We will once again become the breadbasket of Africa. In Zimbabwe, the maize harvest is expected to increase by 199 percent between 2020 and 2021, the harvest of traditional grains by 128 percent and the cotton harvest by 94 percent". It remains to be seen to what extent these are election-related statements in the context of the 2023 election year. The fact is that when traveling through Zimbabwe, visual changes in the landscape in recent years point to a large increase in agricultural land. The development will certainly be accelerated as a result of the war in Ukraine, as grain supplies from Europe have dried up and become practically unaffordable. Another question is the impact on the food situation in Zimbabwe. Although prices for basic foodstuffs are relatively stable, high inflation means that inflation is an existential problem for a large proportion of the population. A large proportion of the population now doubts whether the state, which is controlled by party oligarchs, is willing and able to improve the situation.
Redistribution via wage increases is ineffective due to high unemployment. Subsidizing fuel and food seems to be the only solution at the moment. Whether it is feasible depends on the willingness to raise taxes on the rich and super-rich and on the oligarchs' willingness to invest in their own country, even if the prospects of profit are smaller in the short term than abroad. The prospects for this seem rather small.
For PfAH, this means continuing to support all efforts to help people help themselves.
