Farmers urged to take agriculture seriously

Minister Richard Moyo presents a certificate to Tshongokwe Irrigation Scheme chairperson Mrs Samukeliso Sibanda-Khumalo last week

FARMERS should take agriculture as a serious business to produce enough for household consumption and commercial markets, a Minister has said.

Officiating at the district and provincial prize giving ceremony for Matabeleland North irrigation projects held at Tshongokwe Irrigation Scheme in Jotsholo on Friday, Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Richard Moyo implored farmers to adopt modern farming methods.

“All irrigation schemes in the province: let’s be serious and take farming as a business. We need to change our way of doing business. Government has put money into agriculture in the national budget and we should now aim higher as this will help mechanise our irrigation,” he said.

Minister Moyo urged farmers to adopt water conservation methods to maximise water use in the dry Matabeleland North.

“Our challenge in the province is water. I heard that here at Tshongokwe the dam always dries up before your crops are ready as it is silted. The dam should be rehabilitated and there should be boreholes here so that your irrigation is not affected.

“But let me hasten to say the flood irrigation that you’re using here wastes water. We need to conserve water by using modern methods of irrigation such as sprinklers and pivots. Our hope is completion of Gwayi-Tshangane Dam which is set to be ready at the end of 2019,” he said.

The ceremony was meant to enhance performance and productivity in irrigation in the province and ultimately improve food security in line with Government’s transformation agenda.

Minister Moyo said: “These competitions will facilitate reemergence of Zimbabwe as the bread basket of Africa. Zimbabwe is blessed with brilliant environment for agriculture which includes water, climate, soils and human resources and has embarked on a journey to turn these into opportunities for people.”

He said Government had come up with a number of initiatives such as Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), Command Agriculture and Presidential Input Scheme.

The Minister encouraged farmers to embrace technology in agriculture to move with modern trends.

He said the irrigation competitions organised by the Department of Irrigation and Agritex, and sponsored by SeedCo were a platform to identify challenges facing irrigated agriculture.

“We’re very grateful to the organisers because this encourages us to take agriculture seriously. The competitions help empower farmers including women and youths and increase income to reduce poverty and improve food security at national level,” said Minister Moyo.

“In order to achieve the goals and aspirations of Vision 2030 which states that Zimbabwe becomes a middle income country by year 2030, we must move away from old ways of doing business,” he added.

Twenty-five irrigation schemes from across the province participated in the competitions with Tshongokwe emerging the 2018 provincial champions for the fourth time.

Chentali and Fanisoni irrigation schemes from Hwange and Nkayi respectively were first and second runners up.

There are more than 40 irrigation schemes in the province but some, including Bulawayo Kraal in Binga did not participate for various reasons.

Judges visited all schemes checking on management, security, record keeping, productivity and hygiene among other measurables.

The competition helps farmers to adopt best practices, synergies and take agriculture seriously.

Winners were given certificates and seed maize while Tshongokwe got $1 000 in addition.

Tshongokwe Irrigation Scheme chairperson Mrs Samukeliso Sibanda-Khumalo said the scheme has 64 members and planted a total of 24.4 hectares of maize.

She bemoaned water shortages and market challenges. -@ncubeleon