We need seed

With planting season on its way there is no seed maize to buy, not in Zim dollars or American dollars.

The October clouds are gathering over Zimbabwe and darkening skies tease us with promises of rain every afternoon. It's a brutally hard time of year. Searing heat, scorched ground and a desperate shortage of water makes it almost impossible to keep anything going. And yet, as the clouds get darker, heavier and lower the time of renewal is almost upon us and the signs of the new season are all around us.

Bright yellow weaver birds with deep black face masks are busy weaving strips of grass into intricate nests which they hang upside down from and try and attract mates. A strand out of place, one disdainful glance or dismissive peck at the nest from a female and the male pulls the whole thing apart and starts all over again. The Paradise flycatchers are back too, flitting around showing off their magnificent, foot long, burnt orange tails and building shallow little cups for nests with grass, roots and bits of spiderweb.

It seems absurd to be writing about the weather and birds when we've got no food, fuel or government and inflation's hit 231 MILLION percent, but its these routines of nature that help take our minds off the insanity of life in Zimbabwe. It's the time of year when there should be a frenzy of activity in preparation for the rains and food growing. Seed and fertilizer should be stacked up in sheds waiting to go out to the lands. Tractors should be ploughing and the lands readied but without the inputs it's not happening. In my home town a large, shiny, 4 wheel drive, red tractor, still with plastic on its fenders, roars around on the main tar roads carrying passengers on errands

I had three questions in mind when I phoned around the main agricultural suppliers in my farming home town this week: Have you got seed maize; how much is it; can I pay in Zimbabwe dollars?  I knew I was being optimistic because just a week ago it was reported that there was only enough seed in the country to plant 360 thousand hectares of land.  Zimbabwe apparently has to plant at least one million hectares in order to feed itself.

My phone calls were a waste of time. There is no seed maize to buy, not in Zim Dollars or American dollars and we are just a couple of weeks away from the main planting season. I asked one main farming supplier when they were expecting a delivery of seed maize and he laughed and said he didn't think any of their seed orders were going to come at all.

This is such a critical time in Zimbabwe when almost half the population needs food aid and yet, even in their hunger, people are still desperate to try and help themselves. "We need seed!" is the cry everywhere you go.

Our old and our new leaders are still too busy arguing about power to hear our calls. Another month has been wasted when these Big Men could, should have stood together; seed and fertilizer could have been bought, fields ploughed and every able bodied man and woman readied to bring life and food security back to Zimbabwe. Many people are saying that neither Zanu PF nor the MDC deserve to be in power if they cannot even help us to help ourselves at this most desperate time. Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy.(c)

Copyright cathy buckle 11th October 2008.

www.cathybuckle.com.

To subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter or for information on my books, please write to: cbuckle@mango.zw

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