The Sunday News
Mhlupheki Dube
I VISITED a farm on the environs of Plumtree town and one thing that came out is that successful farmers are those who are willing to continuously learn and try out new innovations.
The field tour was organised by Matabeleland Goats, Sheep, Poultry Trust. The owner of the farm, Mr Ncube has a small peri-urban plot on the northern outskirts of Plumtree town. He is running an integrated agricultural production system which is however, anchored in goat production. He is running three main types of goat breeds on his plot, namely the Kalahari reds, Boer and the Savanna goats.
What immediately strikes you when you visit the farm is the level of investment that has been put in place and the amount of learning through trials that go on. Through this learning Mr Ncube is already at an advanced stage of formulating his own feed for his goats using predominantly locally collected resources such as leaves of some specific trees and pods.
He has also invested feed mixers and crushing machines to support his feed formulation efforts. The farm is also predominantly powered by solar and there is also a state-of-the art biogas digester which provides cooking and lighting gas for the workers’ houses.
It is not the aim of this article to wax lyrical about the investment made on material and equipment on this farm as some will quickly dismiss it on the basis that he is probably already well-resourced to afford such level of investment.
The purpose of this article is the level to which this farmer goes out to seek knowledge to try out different things on his farm to get what works well for him. An example is the biogas digester which is a simple canvas made but state-of-the-art portable digester which he obtained from Israel through his extensive research.
He is on his way to produce his own breed of goats through trials with the above three breeds mentioned above as well as using the local breeds. Continuous learning is one practice that I wish to encourage farmers to adopt as this will ensure that the farmer keeps abreast with modern trends and new innovations.
It is also an accepted fact that most learning and inventions are led by farmers as they try out ideas on how they can solve challenges at their farms. Farmers should embrace the fact that they are the originators of knowledge when it comes to agricultural development and innovations then institutions of higher learning come in to perfect and up scale the findings on inventions generated by the farmer.
It is unrealistic to sit and expect all solutions to come from institutions of higher learning. If you have a serious problem of predation from hyenas and jackals you have to find and develop coping mechanisms and if they are successful these can be shared to other farmers as well.
How much learning and experimenting is happening on your farm? What new technologies and innovations have you tried on your farm? What problem(s) have you solved on your farm through your own innovation?
All these are anchored on passion. A farmer has to have passion with what he does. I have said it before that farming is not a retirement profession where those that have failed in their own chosen profession think they can seek refuge in farming. It is an active carrier which needs an active mind not a retired mind. It is an active mind which will be willing to continue learning and experimenting on different subjects.
I am not talking about the kind of livestock production where you hear a person saying “sengihlezi ekhaya ngikhangeli nkomo zami”. This one is a retired approach which has no energy for investment in bettering production. Mr Ncube takes his helpers to do short courses on goat production and farm management. This he figures will make his employees perform better. It is only a farmer who strongly believes in continuous practical learning who can be willing to invest in the education of his employees. How much are you willing to invest in training yourself and your employees?
Uyabonga umntakaMaKhumalo.
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