Tsholotsho farmers produce pure small grain seeds

22 Jan, 2017 - 00:01 0 Views
Tsholotsho farmers produce pure small grain seeds

The Sunday News

Sorghum

Dickson Mangena, Business Reporter
COMMUNAL farmers in Tsholotsho are now able to produce pure small grain seed to supply other farmers in their area, a development that is expected to boost small grain farming in the drought prone district, an official has said.

Environmental Management Agency has in the last few years been running a small grain programme in some parts of Tsholotsho, giving inputs, educating and monitoring crop progress for some communal farmers. The selected farmers were taught how to produce pure small grain seed that include millet and sorghum.

Matabeleland region EMA planning and monitoring officer Mrs Sithabile Dube said her organisation was now buying pure seed from the previous beneficiaries of the programme as they can now produce pure small grain seed.

“In our programmes we also train farmers in seed production and management and when they have pure seeds we can then move on to support the next group. So far we have had some of the previous beneficiaries who have been able to produce pure grain. We are now buying seeds from these farmers instead of buying seeds from seed companies,” said Mrs Dube.

She said that it was a good development for the uptake of the small grain in the region as buying seeds from the farmers was cheaper than buying from seed houses.

Mrs Dube said the programme was headed in the right direction as farmers were able to produce yields for food and seed.

“Even last year when there was the worst drought in years and all the maize crops did not yield anything, small grain farmers managed to come up with something to eat and keep for seed. In our survey last year we found out that small grain farmers had produced something. At least 60 farmers from the lot we had last year produced an average of about 0,8 tonnes of grain, and about 40 who were the worst affected produced an average of 0,1 to 0,2 tonnes of grain,” said Mrs Dube.

She, however said the programme has continued this year with the same farmers although they added a few more.

“Because of last year’s drought the previous lot is still not able to stand on their own therefore we are going to continue with them and we have only added 50 new farmers,” said Mrs Dube.

“We work with a fixed 200 farmers a year. We have since assisted 520 communal farmers in Tsholotsho over the years.”

 

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