The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
YOUTHS in Agriculture Apex Council in collaboration with a women and girl-child empowerment group, Upfumi Kumadzimai-Inotho Kubomama are in the process of acquiring machinery to assist in value addition of produce in the farming sector.
Youth in Agriculture Apex Council Bulawayo ambassador Mrs Nonceba Mwedzi-Agwaniru who is also Upfumi Kumadzimai-Inotho Kubomama co-ordinator said the two organisations were working on acquiring machinery which will aid their smart agriculture concept in the Matabeleland region.
“For 2021 we intend to bring in machinery to assist in value addition of our farm produce. The machinery will assist in the smart agriculture concept we created to improve productivity and food security in the predominantly dry areas such as the Matabeleland region.
“We are still finalising the concept document though implementation has begun in Matabeleland North where farmers have grown maize and onions,” said Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru.
She also noted that the smart farming concept helps farmers to make the most out of their land and cattle, producing core products, using less labour and resources, emphasising the need for machinery to aid them in value addition so that they sell finished products.
Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru added: “The concept will also provide insights and detailed data, which helps farmers to figure out the most suitable conditions for crops to grow.
“Smart agriculture is a cocktail of new ways that help to guide actions required to modify and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support the development and guarantee food security in the face of changing climate.”
In terms of the piggery project, from the allocation of piglets they received from President Mnangagwa last year in March, she added that two of their sows were going through gestation.
“Two of our sows are expecting to deliver soon. We are also currently completing construction of piggery housing in Woodville Park here in Bulawayo, but we are now working on expanding the project putting into consideration that Matabeleland is mainly a livestock region with the good rains received this year we should be able to get enough feed for the animals,” she added.
Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru also highlighted that their goat rearing project was going very well as they managed to get Boer goats in November last year to crossbreed with the local matebele and mashona goats to produce better breeds.
To further enhance their goat project, she added:
“We are working on getting red Kalahari goats this year as most of our women underwent the profitable goat rearing training last year they were fully equipped with the knowledge of goat rearing.”
As part of the various projects they are implementing, Mrs Mwedzi-Agwaniru said they were also working on the creation of revolving fund which will assist the women members in mining, farming manufacturing and tourism.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic she said they were faced with low sell of their produce, a challenge emanating from the lockdown movement restrictions. Also, the women empowerment organisations were in need of more land to further expand their projects.
Meanwhile, the Matabeleland Goat, Sheep and Poultry Trust (MGSPT) founder and president Mr Dingaan Ndlovu who is also the director of Bulawayo-based agriculture consultancy firm Health Excellence said they have created WhatsApp groups to assist farmers with information for their livestock and crops during the lockdown.
“However, we created about 10 WhatsApp groups with most of them full now and there we share a lot of information especially on diseases of crops and livestock, even sharing on markets for the produce or livestock.
“Our groups are doing a lot to help farmers identify nearby customers for their ready products,” said Mr Ndlovu.
MGSPT chairman and operations director Mr Njabulo Bango said were also utilising new technologies with most of the meetings with farmers being held on online platforms such as Zoom.
