I am going to try and dictate my blog this week as opposed to two finger typing. I've tried to dictate previously and failed miserably. Google Dictate does not understand my language or perhaps it’s my accent or pronunciation. Likely the truth is, it doesn't understand all three. I'm going to give it another go this week, as it is really a major task typing my blog up each week with two fingers. Read this as ‘just bloody lazy.’ Anyway, here goes. I have just reviewed this first paragraph and had to virtually rewrite the whole damn thing. My sister, Mandy, informs me she uses this tool all the time. I do not know how, as I think her accent is more Scottish than mine. Aaargh! She informs me the computer gets used to your voice and over time starts to recognise your it. Is that real?
I have already given up on the dictate. The editing was taking longer than the single pass two finger method. My son also suggested I should include some podcasts. Last week I included Rob Shaw's first part of my interview. There are a further four which I will include in future. Today I have included a very short video showing where we stay and our surroundings. Very rural as you will see.
We are preparing to travel to Zimbabwe at the end of this week. In fact, this blog will be posted somewhere en route perhaps in Frankfurt if we can get internet access. Of course, preparing to travel these days is rather stressful due to Covid-19. First of all, you have to try and ensure you can get into the country you’re heading for. Then you have to find out what is required in regard to vaccination and testing, including time limits. Importantly you also have to find out what is required for the countries you are going to transit through. How monotonous. In our case, Germany and Ethiopia. Germany requires the standard EU Covid-19 passport with PCR test. Ethiopia, I am still not sure, although reading the documentation the requirements are similar. I am assured we will not need to quarantine in a prescribed centre, rather self isolate on entering Zimbabwe if we have both the test and the vaccine passport. Everything can change within the hour, not days. This trip is not for holiday, rather business and family. One to finalise the sale of Rozanne’s house, along with visiting her mother who has recently moved into Nazareth House, an old folks home. This move was achieved with the aid of Rozanne’s sister Lorriane (Lulu). Lulu is hoping to return to the UK shortly, her challenge being she is unvaccinated having had Covid-19 last year. She is a self proclaimed ‘anti vaxxer’, a stance she may have to relinquish if she wants to return to the UK.
Another decision for me, under pressure from various parties, was whether to ask for special travel assistance. That is, a wheelchair. I have been walking again, covering more than the distance required in an airport. At least a kilometre, including some steep hills. I plan to travel unassisted against advice, maybe even good sense. We will drive to Lisbon the day before so we have an overnight rest before flying. I suppose it is the cumulative stress on my heart over the twenty four hours, plus travel time that will be most important. To this end, our travel advisor and friend, Jenny Lovell, has ordered a wheelchair in Harare just in case.
As I've said in earlier blogs, as you get older you find death notices become more frequent. This week was no different with the really sad news of my old friend David Baxter passing. I'm going to talk about Dave specifically this week in the investing in Africa section. I know Dave and his team at Blackfordby paved the way for many young investors entering into Zimbabwean agriculture either as managers or farmers.
I'd also like to thank you for all of your responses to my request on your preferences of my blog layout in future. Unfortunately for me, the majority of your responses so far are happy for me to include all topics encompassing everything. This means most people want me to continue as was. I will try to reduce it in length though. That means two things, it will take a shorter time to write each week but will extend the time of publication of the final chapter. Will I live long enough?
Getting Ready for African Departure
On agreeing, under no duress, to represent the family at my sister's wedding had some downsides as well as upsides in my personal life. Just before leaving Norfolk I had taken part in the Eastern Counties rugby trials. It was the highest achievement in rugby, in reality also nearly the end of my rugby playing days unbeknown to me. In the future I did play again for the School of Infantry in Rhodesia, only during my training period which coincided with the rugby season. I had really enjoyed my rugby with North Walsham, a club that was to grow in stature. I made many friends, nearly all farmers. Why is it that “like minded people” naturally attract each other in friendship? In later life I gathered many friends, some outside farming, however the vast majority were and are involved by some thread to agriculture.
Paddy said goodbye to me at Norwich station, I only saw him again after forty nine years in 2017. A wonderful guy. He was a great mentor, teaching me much about life including living with a debilitating disease, his being diabetes Type 1. Paddy’s zest for life had a positive impact throughout my life.
On returning to Mull to prepare for my departure, little did I know it would be the last time I stayed in the farmhouse of my childhood. So many happy times coupled with some sad times, the latter so few in childhood memories. As it was over Christmas and New Year, there were many local dances and ceilidhs to attend. Of course, father also had me help on the farm. He was really sad about being unable to attend my sister's wedding. I think there was quite a lot of guilt about this. In the interim I tried to read up about Rhodesia. Of course, no internet then so on Mull, only Encyclopaedia Britannica, newspapers or the radio to refer to. British news only talked about the dissident rebel Smith, sanctions imposed on that country with nothing positive. I did read in the encyclopaedias that the weather in Salisbury was deemed the perfect climate, while Rhodesia was rich in gold, nickel and chrome. It was renowned for its tobacco along with wonderful wildlife. Until recently it also had the largest man-made dam in the world, Kariba, until the Aswan dam was built in 1970. Not a lot really, but plenty to excite a young man with an inkling for adventure with the ambition of eventually farming in their own right. Sanctions, I never really thought that important. Sometimes the youth are not only naive, also stupid. I think I was both, never having had any regrets for my decision to emigrate there.
My father bought me a return ticket, both of us knowing if I decided to stay, I could cash in the return half. Refunds were so simple in those days. After eighteen months we are still waiting for refunds on our cancelled tickets to Africa due to Covid-19. This is despite having fully refundable tickets. The airline is Iberia, part of BA.
I cannot remember how much money I had, we were only allowed £50 pounds to go on holiday out of Britain in those days. I presume therefore the bank would have given me the £50 pounds in travellers checks while I had some small notes for traveling expenses. On about the 15th of January 1972, I set off for Rhodesia with my father coming to Oban railway station to bid me farewell. I am sure he knew I was not planning to return for a long time. Off I set on my new life with £50, some small notes and the £180 value of my refunded return leg on my air ticket.
Investing in African Agriculture
When I previously talked about investing in farming, I have repeatedly talked about the knowledge and skills required to manage an agricultural production unit on that continent, Africa. Good management is the key, at all levels for success. When I was Vice President of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), my President Anthony Swire-Thompson, along with myself, were really interested in replacing the then defunct Gwebi Agricultural College as Government funding for that establishment slowly dwindled. The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) had set up a tobacco training school latterly expanding it into having a one year tobacco diploma course. This would be the ideal vehicle to join forces within the establishment of a broader agricultural diploma course. There was always a lot of competition between the CFU and the ZTA. To be honest, to the detriment of the members of both organisations. I suppose it was down to petty jealousy. Luckily for us there was a new enlightened team at the ZTA who set aside the petty issues and invited us to look at working together to set up a new college at a brand new location with a full two year diploma course. We jumped at that. That was how Blackfordby was born, although in all our eyes it remained the baby of the ZTA. My counterpart on becoming President of the CFU was Peter Richards, President of the ZTA, who was to become a good friend, ally and mentor in many matters. He was much steadier than me, I was more impulsive. Our organisations combined funding with all the commodities contributing, after some coercing, gave us the confidence to expand onto a new farm establishing an agricultural college from scratch.
The Director of Blackfordby was Dave Baxter, a gem of a man with a vast amount of practical agricultural knowledge. He was a tobacco specialist by trade but the basis of good crop production has the same fundamentals in all crops. Dave ran Blackfordby from the time I joined the board until I finally retired as chairman in 2001. During that time, Peter Richards was chairman of the board of trustees. Dave, Peter and myself had a very good working relationship and together we saw Blackfordby grow into a first class agricultural college, by reputation, the premier college of its type in Southern Africa. Much of this reputation was due to Dave’s management, his choice of both field and classroom staff. All had to have a practical bent. Importantly, he insisted that the course would turn out good managers making the curriculum very management focused. I was always so impressed by the final management projects each student had to prepare before graduating. They made my college efforts at Auchincruive look pretty poor to say the least. Being a private college perhaps allowed Dave more discipline and discretion in managing both staff and students. Whatever it was, it worked.
The college not only ran the diploma courses it also ran long and short courses from tractor driving, grading tobacco, irrigation, farm supervision including crop chemical use etc. In fact, whatever task you needed to do on your farm you could attend or send one of your staff to a course covering that specific task or skill. It was unique in Africa, becoming one of the integral pillars of Zimbabwean agriculture.
If you wanted a good manager you looked for a Blackfordby diploma holder, if you wanted a good supervisor you looked for a Blackfordby trained person. If you wanted to train your staff, you sent them on the various courses. If you wanted to raise money to go farming on your own, there was nothing better than having a Blackfordy diploma to impress the bank manager. The ZTA’s own Tenant Farming Scheme gave precedence to Blackfordby graduates.
In hearing of Dave Baxter's death this week many people in the Agricultural Industry will be saddened, many will have benefitted from his knowledge and like me, many from his friendship. My sincere condolences to his wife Coral. Goodbye Mr Blackfordby.
I should also mention another well known agriculturist in Zimbabwe died this week, Ken Wilson of Agricura. Ken, while MD of Agricura, was also one of the bigger supporters in my farming operations. He did this through both giving advice and offering me credit on my annual crop protection chemicals. Many farmers benefitted from his time in the crop protection business, Agricura, being one of the leading companies involved in Zimbabwe. Farewell Ken, also fondly remembered by so many.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
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