Communicating Arts - Main Web SiteChapter I. An Outline for Study of Agricultural Development in Southern Rhodesia.
Chapter II. The Part of Agriculture in the National Economy of Southern Rhodesia.
Para 3. Contrirction to the National Food Supply
"Contrirction" seems now an archaic legal term having to do with debt, but even my 40-year-old Webster's Unabridged seems not to have it.
Para. 4. Adequacy of Food Supply
Para. 9. Suitability of Food Supply
10. Crop and Livestock Comparisons
12. Fruit
13. Vegetables.
14. Canning and Dehydration of Fruit and Vegetables
15. Fats
19. Protein
21. Trends in Native Diet
. . . .
Chapter VI. Agricultural Policy and Development
Para. 2. The Physical Setting
Para. 7. The Economic Setting
Para. 13. The Objective of Development
Para. 14. Policy Proper to the Chosen Objectives
16. Economic Security
18. Guarantees in Relation to Policy
21. Price Basis and Price Structure
24. Subsidies for land Improvement and Equipment
26. Policy and Farming Systems
The botanist who cared enough and worked long to contribute to what would become for a while the bread basket--rather than the basket case--of Africa was Professor Sir Frank Engledow, "Knight Agriculturalist Local Historian" [3].
The above posted (and truncated) table of contents comes from Sir Engledow's Report to the Minister of Agriculture and Lands on The Agricultural Development of Southern Rhodesia, as presented to the Legislative Assembly, 1950. [1]
Back in the day, for this note the early 1960's, Nuffield [2] scholar Gordon Pullar, now the 82-year-old owner of a New Zealand bed & breakfast, Crichton Lodge, had the privilege of encountering Sir Engledow as a student. As this is now a belated birthday comment, there should be no harm in making it just a few more minutes late by noting Gordon Pullar's own lifetime accomplishments in agriculture started from very near to scratch. I quote here from his speech in 2006 to the Nuffield Conference in New Zealand:
"I had left high school at the end of my fourth form year, December 1941, to go home to drive a six- horse team to annually plough, cultivate and sow 230 acres of swedes, oats and new grass.
"My Father employed one farm worker. One after the other three of them had been called up for war service. Thus the war spelt the end of my formal education.
"I found the writing of my report a difficult task. It took me nine long months of very late nights. Sir Frank Engledow an Agriculture Lecturer of considerable standing as well as a Nuffield Director and Advisor, wrote in his acceptance letter “Late but excellent!”
"I knew the late was appropriate!" [5]
Whatever the resources given, how we work them has much to do with their return.
Responding to my request for comment, the Gordon's through e-mail [4]:
"Sir Frank met with we Agriculture Nuffield Scholars from the commonwealth ie Canada, Australia, and the then named Southern Rhodesia and from Northern Rhodesia. (two from each country) at the beginning of our three week study tour of England, Scotland and Wales. We were greatly impressed by his wide knowledge of British agriculture and Research Centres combined with his remarkable in depth knowledge of the countries we each represented. He had the ability to focus accurately upon the agricultural issues, challenges, controversies and proposals of the time. 1962. What ever we asked he appeared to be able to respond with in depth knowledge.
"He encouraged us to look widely as we travelled, not to concentrate only upon agricultural issues and instead to seek a balanced, comprehensive view of what we experienced. He emphasized the importance of including local culture, history, industry and art in our perception."
Would I were budgeted for purchasing academic journal articles or subscriptions: I'm sure I would have that much more to say about the character of contemporary scholars, Anglo and other, engaged in the business of getting people fed.
Even narrowed down to getting merely Zimbabwe fed would, I am sure, generate an angry wealth of observation on my part.
Neither the professoriat of God and country nor of the "peasant" has disappeared, but the capacity to implement and sustain a productive agrarian practice against the vicissitudes brought about through political angling for gain and power has in some quarters quite vanished. From last year's World Food Programme comment on Zimbabwe:
"The poor harvest coupled with the worsening economic crisis will leave 2.1 million people facing food shortages as early as the third quarter of 2007 – a figure that will rise to 4.1 million at the peak of the crisis in the months before the next main harvest in April 2008." [9]
Sir Frank Engledow had by 1950 laid out a productive, profitable agricultural assessment and plan for the Rhodesia that was to become Zimbabwe, and it had helped produce a cornucopia.
Other of my notes on Zimbabwe here:
"A Little More on Zimbabwe." February 19, 2008.
"Zimbabwe: Peter Godwin's Book and How a Country Deconstructs." February 19, 2008.
1. Engledow, Sir Frank. Report to the Minister of Agriculture and Lands on The Agricultural Development of Southern Rhodesia. Presented to the Legislative Assembly, 1950. Table-of-Contents retrieved courtesy of the librarian, St. Johns College Library, Cambridge: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library/special_collections/personal_papers/engledow/.
4. Pullar, Margaret. "Re. Sir Frank Egledow." Private correspondence, March 14, 2008.
5. Pullar, Gordon. "Speech: Gordon Pullar." May 2006 Nuffield Conference.
6. Thornycroft, Peta. "White farmers in court for growing crops." Telegraph.co.uk, June 10, 2007.
8. Relief Web. "Zimbabwe: IRIN interview with land expert Sam Moyo." August 14, 2001.
9. World Food Programme. "Where We Work - Zimbabwe". 2007.
Correspondence: James S. Oppenheim
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