Small Grains a Way to go for Zimbabwe

Reports from Zimbabwe that almost two thirds of the maize crop of the 2011/2012 agricultural season is a complete write off points to a grim future for rural communities particularly in dry regions. It would be difficult for communities to scrap through a year until April 2013, when a new crop would be harvested, assuming that the heavens would be generous next time around. 

Government has made assurances that no one will starve and that every effort would be made to ensure that grain is moved from grain surplus regions to deficit areas and that additional grain would be imported to augment the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) stocks. In addition there have been assurances that poor rural dwellers will receive grain through GMB grain loan scheme. 

However there are disturbing reports that villagers have begun selling livestock at massive discounts to their market value to obtain grain to feed their families. Rural farmers are reportedly selling cattle at over 200% discount at prices around USD150 and in some cases a paltry USD100. Thus rural communities are losing wealth because of grain shortages. It is against such background that I propose a policy framework to support small grains in Zimbabwe.

Government has acknowledged that small grains should be actively pursued as a national policy. In crafting the policy framework one has to identify the current factors militating against the sustainability of small grains production when compared to other cereals like maize.

A)    Seed- There has been no coherent and systematic research regarding small grain seed. Thus farmers’ yields have continued to decline to levels which are not viable even if the market for small grains was there.

B)    Market- Rural farmers who have experimented with small grains have realized that the market for small grains is almost non-existent. Small grains are a hard sell- so they say.

C)   Lifestyles- Despite the fact that maize was popularized fairly recently among Zimbabweans, many have almost forgotten that a filling meal of millet, rapoko or sorghum can be a perfect substitute of Sadza (maize meal porridge).

D)   Pests - Destruction of small grain crops by Quelea birds. 

REMEDIES

A well crafted policy framework for small grains should address the above issues and provide interventions and regulations which will resuscitate these critical but dying crops.

There is no doubt that given hybrid seed, farmers of small grains would see their yields increasing. A framework for resuscitating the small grains should address the issue of seed. Seed houses will be encouraged and assisted to prioritize small grain seed in their research, production and ultimately marketing.  However, given that many seed houses are privately owned the business case of small grains would initially be difficult to sell to shareholders. Thus government might need to subsidize seed producers until market forces can sustain the seed production on profitable basis.

The market for small grains is quite thin currently largely due to consumer preferences for maize. Thus a concerted effort to demystify the negative perceptions of these crops is needed. Massive campaigns to raise public awareness on the value of small grains are required. These campaigns are perhaps effective if food processors begin to incorporate the small grains in their food manufacturing processes and market them properly. 

Delta Corporation contracted farmers to grow sorghum for years and that system has worked perfectly well.  Recent research has shown that there is still a gap between the contracted sorghum and the potential yield. Only 25% (1000 tonnes) of national sorghum requirement is produced through the contract scheme with the 75% (3000 tonnes) being the gap in a market of 4000 tonnes of the crop. It follows therefore that if there was an active support of sorghum to complement Delta, then production will naturally rise to fill the gap. The market failure in this regard needs further interrogation. However, the GMB should increase efforts to support the farmers with logistics and marketing of the sorghum and other small grains.

A sorghum crop ready for harvest

It is however a myth to say that there is no market for small grains. A new African sovereign state - South Sudan’s staple food is sorghum and millet. Surely a mechanism of marketing and exporting surplus sorghum and millet from Zimbabwe to South Sudan is feasible and viable in the medium to long-term, given that the both countries are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) preferential trade area.

Again government should facilitate and encourage the development of the commodities market of small grains through partnering with the private sector. This market will not only assist in price discovery of small grains, but will create forward and backward linkages between food processors, financiers, investors, agro-dealers, speculators and farmers to sustain the market of small grains. I am aware of the work of local and international NGOs and developmental partners that have teamed up with agro-dealers in providing support to rural farmers through a voucher system. Such efforts are lauded and should extend to small grains and other traditional food crops like cassava, cow peas, round nuts, runinga etc.

The health advantages of consuming small grains are well documented and studies have confirmed that a daily intake of a diet of sorghum, millet, rapoko complimented by soya bean mix will go a long way in boosting one’s immune system. Again the private sector is fundamental in ensuring the uptake of these foods through proper branding and marketing to health conscious individuals.

A delicacy: Sadza rezviyo (rapoko porridge) and kapenta fish
 (courtesy of Field to Feast: www.fieldtofeast.blogpost.com)

The Zimbabwe prison service has struggled to feed inmates and reports of malnutrition have been reported. Specially formulated foods using small grains to provide all the nutrients to sustain life can be designed to feed inmates. Government hospitals should also be encouraged to feed patients with small grain meals and that should automatically create a market and demand for the crops.

Africans should know that it is strategic to grow and consume food which is suitable to their environments. Not only will it increase food security, but will result in economic growth and development. The foreign exchange resources saved if grain importation is reduced or stopped because the country has increased small grain production would be directed to critical issues like infrastructural development. 

Thriving crops of millet in the foreground and maize in the background

Quelea birds are a menace to farmers in Zimbabwe, Southern, East, Central and West Africa. Farmers experience heavy losses because of these migratory birds. The war against the birds is ongoing and requires coordination among countries, for they know no borders. However, country specific interventions are needed to curtail the losses on small grains like millet, sorghum, wheat, rice and barely. It is also envisaged that with increase in number of farmers undertaking small grains production, then perhaps the damage would be somehow spread and thus overall production will increase. In fact the birds are a ready source of protein for rural communities and the urban poor and mechanisms of harvesting them for food should be actively explored.

Therefore a framework of resuscitating small grains is urgently required to breathe life into this important sector. Government and the private sector should continue working together and support farmers who are eager to embark on this fruitful and rewarding journey. There are few options, for small grains is the way.