Nesia Mhaka Herald Correspondent
Government has embarked on the production of a Multi-Crop Threshing (MCT) machine, which is aimed at promoting farm mechanisation and reducing hunger in farming communities.

The Government is being assisted by its development partners.

The MCT project, titled Feed the Future, is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The machine can thrash various types of crops such as maize, sorghum, barley, and rice. It improves the quality of life, strengthens value chains and contribute to food security.

The director of mechanisation in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Mr Robson Gumbo told The Herald on Friday last week that in terms of improving yield, mechanisation plays a key role in improving efficient deployment of resources.

“Many smallholder farmers have mustered what it takes to succeed and mechanisation such as the introduction of thrasher machines will certainly take them to the next level by broadening their livelihood choices,” he said.

“Maximum exploitation of resources now requires various levels of mechanisation. There is an opportunity for local agricultural engineers to work with international engineering companies and produce different sizes of multi-crop threshing machine that suit different categories of                              farmers.”

Mr Gumbo said the newly introduced thrashing machine will increase productivity on the farms and help the agricultural sector to become a major exporter of its produce, thereby reclaiming its breadbasket status.