Marvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
DEMAND for small grains is on the increase in Zimbabwe given health benefits associated with their consumption, an official said. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president, Wonder Chabikwa told a gathering of farmers in Gwanda, Matabeleland South province, that growing small grains was a big business opportunity for farmers.

“There’s a big market for small grains because most of the top hotels in Zimbabwe are now serving their starch basing it on small grains. The market is there internally and also externally,” said Chabikwa.

He said the generality of Zimbabweans were increasingly becoming conscious about their diet with many turning to small grain-based meals.

Isitshwala/sadza is the staple food for Zimbabwe and is derived from maize, rapoko, millet or sorghum mealie meal.

Given the declining maize yields due to low rainfall experienced in the past few years, small grains have become a healthy source of starch.

The government has recommended growing of small grains as they are resistant to drought and do well even in areas that receive minimal rainfall.

“We’re now having foreign ailments in Zimbabwe mainly as a result of what we eat. We shun indigenous crops for foreign crops. We encourage consumers to increase the uptake of small grain food to avoid diseases,” Chabikwa added.

Farmers in the drought prone province of Matabeleland South have for a long time been advised to grow small grains such as millet and sorghum as they are suitable for their areas and can resist drought.

However, most farmers continue to plant more maize despite repeated incidents of failure as the crop requires more rains.

This year again most farmers in the province did not harvest anything after their maize crop succumbed to the prolonged dry spell.

The farmers’ forum was held under the theme “Repositioning and Rebranding the ZCFU to Tackle Production, Productivity and Market Challenges in Zimbabwean Agriculture”.

ZCFU is conducting meetings in the eight provinces where it has membership in the country.

The forums offer farmers and other interested groupings an opportunity to discuss issues affecting food production.