Mash Central gears up for Smart Agric indaba

Mashonaland Central Province is preparing for a Smart Agriculture Conference that will be officially opened by President Mnangagwa at Chaminuka Vocational Training Centre in Mt Darwin on May 16.

Speaking during a Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting on Sunday, Zanu-PF provincial chairman Cde Kazembe Kazembe said they are planning and making arrangements for the visit.

“The President is coming to Mashonaland Central to officially open the conference. We are fortunate as a province that he agreed to be the guest of honour at the conference,” said Cde Kazembe.

“We were meeting to plan for his visit. We also discussed feedback that we are getting from people through the inter-district meetings. We have been moving around talking to people about the challenges on the ground and how the Government is intervening to resolve the issues.

“We have managed to reach six districts and only two are remaining. We felt it is important to give the provincial leadership the feedback on people’s expectations and our way forward.”

Speaking at the same meeting, Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri said Government is introducing Command Sweet Potatoes to complement grain reserves in the country in the wake of this year’s drought.

“Despite the current drought being experienced in the country, farmers in Mashonaland Central have increased their food production capacity. Do not let this drought make you lose heart, let us prepare for the coming farming season,” said Cde Shiri.

“Those in wheat production, increase your production level so that the country does not have to import wheat. Farmers who cannot plant wheat, may you venture into sweet potatoes production. We are now introducing Command Potatoes and we will facilitate people with irrigation schemes to enter into sweet potatoes production.

“The winter season is the best time to plant sweet potatoes, some get up to 70 tonnes per hectare. We will complement the maize reserves that we have by planting winter maize and sweet potatoes this winter.

“Winter wheat inputs are available and they came on time. Let’s try to be self-sufficient as much as possible so that the foreign currency the country is using to import food can be used for other things.

“I want to thank the contribution by the province towards (assisting) Cyclone Idai victims. The spirit of unity and feeling empathy for each other will make us overcome anything as a country. If only people could have the same national response on issues of illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the West, by now they would have become useless.

“If only everyone was singing from the same hymn book denouncing sanctions without Nicodemuses among us begging for sanctions during the night, we would have developed.”