GOVERNMENT is distributing farming inputs to urban farmers as part of measures to guarantee countrywide food security with 100 000 targeted in Bulawayo.

In the past week, Government has been distributing seed maize and fertiliser to urban farmers with more than 14 000 households benefitting from the exercise in Bulawayo.

The country is expecting a bumper harvest in the 2020/21 farming season following good rains that coincided with the intwasa/pfumvudza climate proof farming method spearheaded by Government.

Previously, the Presidential Input Scheme was only limited to rural communities but it is now being extended to urban areas.

Agritex Matabeleland North provincial agronomist Mr Davison Masendeke said the farmers who are benefitting from the programme participated in the intwasa/pfumvudza farming programme.

“There are those people involved in urban to peri-urban farming. Those are the people we are targeting under this programme. They have small plots and we are sure that those small farms also contribute to food security. We give them 5kg maize seed, 50kg of Compound D fertiliser and 50kg of ammonium nitrate and lime depending on where they are conducting their farming activities. Those with smaller plots are given 30kgs or even smaller as they are expected to share. We also provide them with fall armyworm chemical. Basically, that is the whole package,” said Mr Masendeke.

He said Government, in extending the programme to urban areas, realises that urban to peri-urban farming contributes to national food security.

“So if they get those inputs it helps them a lot. That’s one of the reasons we are distributing the seeds. We are saying we want to improve food self sufficiency and improve food security in the urban areas. There are some pensioners and other people who are not employed and if they embark on cropping activities it will assist them with food for subsistence. That is the major reason why we are giving them the inputs,” said Mr Masendeke.

“The total so far is 14 525 and we are targeting 100 000 people. So residents who want the inputs should visit their community coordinators and register their names so that they also get the farming inputs.”

While members of the public are allowed to embark on urban agriculture, the Bulawayo City Council has warned residents against cultivating in undesignated places.

The local authority has warned that it would slash crops that are cultivated along stream banks and closer to the roads.

Most Bulawayo residents with plots have already planted with the crops in good shape.

However, some of the crops seem to be failing due to lack of fertiliser. — @nqotshili