Local youths in thriving mushroom project

11 Jan, 2015 - 00:01 0 Views
Local youths in thriving mushroom project

The Sunday News

mushroomNqobizitha Dhlamini Farming Reporter
WHO said the youth should wait to be leaders of tomorrow when they can be leaders of today?
This has led to some youngsters taking a backseat where economic roles are concerned believing it is not yet their time.However, as people are different, there are young people almost outshining adults, making a name for themselves in technology, business, and agriculture sectors, to name a few.

Busani Ferro and Takudzwa Nyakanyanga, a pair from Magwegwe Township in Bulawayo, are taking the bull by its horns in the agricultural sector where they are managing a mushroom project.

Their business is booming as the crop has an insatiable market.

The pair said instead of “feeling sorry for ourselves and whining” about the high levels of unemployment, they decided “to put on our boots and get dirty”.

“We decided to sing a different song from our counterparts that are appealing to the Government to create jobs,” said Ferro. “Of course there is a problem in the industries but in the meantime the Government has presented land to the people hence we thought it was best to grab the opportunity and create income for ourselves.”

Ferro and Nyakanyanga started the mushroom growing project early last year and, over the past months, have grown into leading suppliers to a number of supermarkets in Bulawayo.

The pair said Magwegwe High School offered them a place to grow their mushrooms at the school’s agricultural sites allowing them convenient space to manage their produce, which otherwise takes a lot of patience.

The pair resides a stone throw away from the school.

Ferro and Nyakanyanga lauded the gesture by the school and said it is up to the community to help the young get to their feet and establish them in various business practices they intend to embark on.

The school has also benefited in that its pupils are exposed to the mushroom growing project which is still a growing area of agricultural practice within African schools’ curriculum.

The pair who trade under the name AgroFwd spend a lot of their time in isolation nurturing their project and making sure everything goes well.

“Mushrooms require careful management such that our social lives had to undergo some sort of alteration to suit the needs of the project,” said Nyakanyanga.

Such dedication is rare and commendable in people let alone youths hence posing as evidence that the youth do not need to hide behind the finger when it comes to matters of economic contributions.

Ferro and Nyakanyanga have since become members of a newly found organisation named Young Farmers Association of Zimbabwe which is a wing of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union.

The organisation empowers the young farmers assisting them in terms of training and networking with experienced mushroom farmers who have been in the business for a considerable amount of time.

YFAZ president, Mr Ayanda Ndlovu, said the pair was dedicated in their work so much that he was confident that in no time they would definitely reach great heights.

“It is very refreshing to see young people taking on farming projects seriously as some of them do not view farming as an activity that can be undertaken by the young,” he said. “It has always been associated with the senior citizen and usually schools give students agricultural activities as punishment hence that attitude does not fully go away sometimes.”

One big challenge that AgroFwd faces is the issue that they have to order their spawn from Harare as there are no producers in the region.

This obviously adds on to the costs as they have to fork out transport charges for their spawn to reach Bulawayo.

The cultivation of mushrooms is done by farmers using spawn which is placed in substrate, the mycelium grows rapidly to colonise the growth medium which turns white under the ideal conditions over a period of four weeks. The mycelium fuses together to form fruiting bodies that are the mushrooms. Mushrooms require constant supervision as most mushrooms grow best in temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees F, away from drying, direct heat and drafts. They also tolerate light but it is best introduced in stages as they grow, overall they should stay relatively in the dark or in low light.

As a result, the innovative pair have already seen a business opportunity and are already making plans to start producing the spawn and supplying it in the city.

Ferro and Nyakanyanga also believe in giving back to the community as they are already training other young people from their township on proper mushroom farming practices.

If only the country could have more youth with the determination and the innovation that AgroFwd possesses a lot of social ills like unemployment, crime and prostitution would decrease, reducing factors like the HIV pandemic and promoting economic growth.

 

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