Women organisation seals deal to lease farm in Mzingwane

10 Dec, 2017 - 01:12 0 Views
Women organisation seals deal to lease farm in Mzingwane

The Sunday News

cropping of cereals

Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Farming Reporter
UPFUMI Kumadzimai-Inotho Kubomama has entered a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a farmer in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South Province to lease part of his farm for the purposes of embarking on extensive agricultural projects.

The Bulawayo-based women and girl child empowerment non-governmental organisation entered an MoU with Mr Walter Moyo of Woodlands in Umzingwane to utilise part of his 54-hectare farm for cropping of cereals, horticultural produce as well as rearing of small stock.

Upfumi Kumadzimai-Inotho Kubomama programmes co-ordinator Mrs Nonceba Mwedzi-Agwaniru said the organisation intends to set up an irrigation scheme so as to ensure crop production throughout the year as well as embarking on poultry, piggery and goat projects.

“We have already started land preparation for the cropping of maize and millet and these will be rain-fed but we have plans to set up an irrigation scheme to enable us to produce a wide range of horticultural produce. We intend to be selling fresh farm produce to various retail outlets while some of the produce will be taken to the vegetable market in Bulawayo.

“We look forward to attaining a good yield from our maize and millet of which we will sell part of the produce to generate income and utilise part of it to produce feed for our chickens while we will also assist the needy with food, especially Sir Humphrey Gibbs and other orphanage homes. These projects will create employment especially for youths,” said Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru.

The organisation has already started a free-range chickens breeding project at Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre.

Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre is a Bulawayo-based learning institute for people living with mental challenges.

“We are looking forward to embarking on an extensive goat project and if we manage to have a substantial number of goats we will consider exploring the lucrative export market,” said Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru.

There have been calls by agricultural experts for goat producers to form consortiums so as to deliver their small stock in bulk to lucrative export markets such as Angola, Kuwait, Dubai, and Indonesia. Ethiopia is the biggest exporter in Africa exporting $97 million worth of goat meat annually. It has a goat population of more than 20 million which is about 15 percent of the African herd. It also boasts of six export abattoirs.

“Our various agricultural enterprises will play a big part in improving food security as well as nutrition. We are, however, appealing to well wishers to assist us with irrigation equipment and we also want Government through Agritex to include us in its Command Agriculture Programme,” said Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru.

The organisation got donations of maize, millet, potato, carrots and peanuts seed from two Bulawayo businessmen and politicians Cde Kevin Muzvidziwa and Cde Makhunga Moyo as well as Nkulumane representative in the National Assembly Cde Killian Sibanda.

“We donated maize, carrot, potato and millet seed for the group as our goals is to assist people to be self sufficient especially when it comes to food and this way we are quite sure household food security will improve. We are also in full support of Command Agriculture as it plays a big role in ensuring national food security,” said Cde Muzvidziwa.

Cde Muzvidziwa is Zanu-PF Bulawayo Province secretary for economic affairs. -@DNsingo

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