The Commercial Farmers' Union of Zimbabwe is an organisation that was formed to assist
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
s in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
with a variety of
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
services. Farmers within the country pay a subscription fee which entitles them to the use of these services. Currently the president of the CFU is Peter Steyl. The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation is Hendrik Olivier.
The Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (CFU) is an independent and politically neutral membership driven organisation which represents and advances the interests of professional farmers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. The CFU draws its membership from primarily large scale and Intensive Commercial Agricultural Producers, but membership is open to all farmers regardless of scale or land holding. The CFU's main agenda is to promote a stable and competitive agricultural business environment; and to provide advice and support to farmers – covering technical extension service, inputs, marketing aspects, business management, labour relations, advice with land and compensation issues and so on.
History
Presidents
The following is a list of past Presidents of the Commercial Farmers' Union and its antecedents.
Rhodesian Agricultural Union
*
R. A. Fletcher
Richard Alexander Fletcher (28 March 1944, in York, England – 28 February 2005, in Nunnington, England) was a historian who specialised in the Middle Ages, medieval period.
Early years
Richard Fletcher was the eldest child and only son of Ale ...
Humphrey Gibbs
Sir Humphrey Vicary Gibbs, (22 November 19025 November 1990), was the penultimate Governor of the colony of Southern Rhodesia, from 24 October 1964 simply Rhodesia, who served until, and opposed, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI ...
(1944–1946)
*
John Moore Caldicott
Sir John Moore Caldicott (12 February 1900 – 31 January 1986) was a Rhodesian government minister.
Early life
John Moore Caldicott was born in Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, on 12 February 1900 the son of solicitor John Croydon Moore Cal ...
Denis Norman
Denis R. Norman (March 26, 1931 – December 20, 2019) was a British-Zimbabwean politician who spent a total of twelve years in the Cabinet of Robert Mugabe. He was known as "Nothing Wrong Norman" due to his penchant for trying to put a posi ...
(1978–1979)
Commercial Farmers' Union
*
Denis Norman
Denis R. Norman (March 26, 1931 – December 20, 2019) was a British-Zimbabwean politician who spent a total of twelve years in the Cabinet of Robert Mugabe. He was known as "Nothing Wrong Norman" due to his penchant for trying to put a posi ...
John Laurie
John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (196 ...
Nick Swanepoel
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A Glossary of cricket terms#nick, cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealin ...
Nick Swanepoel
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A Glossary of cricket terms#nick, cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealin ...
(1998–1999)
* Tim Henwood (1999–2001)
*
Colin Cloete Colin may refer to:
* Colin (given name)
* Colin (surname)
* ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie
* Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse
* Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...
Lionel Cripps
The Hon. Lionel Cripps, CMG (11 October 1863 – 3 February 1950), was the first Speaker of the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly.
Born in Simla, India, and educated in England, he was the son of a General in the Bengal Staff Corps. Cripp ...
, first
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
of the
Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970.
Background
In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was found ...
; helped found the CFU
*
Humphrey Gibbs
Sir Humphrey Vicary Gibbs, (22 November 19025 November 1990), was the penultimate Governor of the colony of Southern Rhodesia, from 24 October 1964 simply Rhodesia, who served until, and opposed, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI ...
, last
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
before
UDI Udi may refer to:
Places
* Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria
* Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India
People
* Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor
* Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka
...
; helped found the CFU
*
Ben Freeth
Benjamin Freeth, MBE (born c. 1971) is a white Zimbabwean farmer and human rights activist from the district of Chegutu in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. Together with his father-in-law, Mike Campbell, he rose to international prominence af ...
, former CFU official
*
Iain Kay
James Hamilton Iain Kay (born 1949) is a Zimbabwean farmer and politician who served in the House of Assembly from 2009 to 2013. Previously, he was a commercial farmer near Marondera, Mashonaland East Province. He was also the subject of violent ...
Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo
Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo (23 December 1945 – 9 May 2013) was a Zimbabwean nationalist, part of the first group of Gonakudzingwa restriction camp political prisoners, Pioneer Insurance Executive, Business magnate, Academic, philanthropist, cons ...
, member
*
P. K. van der Byl
Pieter Kenyon Fleming-Voltelyn van der Byl (11 November 1923 – 15 November 1999) was a Rhodesian politician who served as his country's Foreign Minister from 1974 to 1979 as a member of the Rhodesian Front (RF). A close associate of Pr ...
, former CFU lawyer
*
Jenni Williams
Jenni Williams (born 1962) is a Zimbabwean human rights activist and a founder of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza). A prominent critic of President Robert Mugabe's government, ''The Guardian'' described her in 2009 as "one of the most troublesome ...