Govt, Tongaat Hullet partner in maize production

Tawanda Mangoma in Chiredzi
Government and giant sugarcane miller, Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe, have partnered in the production of nearly 320 hectares of maize under the Command Agriculture project in Chiredzi.

The project, which has created close to 420 jobs, will be used as a benchmark in the production of winter maize to be irrigated by water from Tokwe Mukosi Dam. In an interview, Minister of State for Masvingo Province Josaya Hungwe said they anticipated to produce more than 3 200 tonnes of maize from the project.

“We have once again partnered Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe in the production of winter maize on 317 hectares. The teams of agriculturists on the ground anticipate that we might get 10 tonnes per hectare like what happened the previous time. We are very delighted as a province that the efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger in Masvingo Province are being taken to a higher level,” he said.

Minister Hungwe said Masvingo would decide on the distribution pattern of the maize when harvesting was completed.
“Last time, we gave all the 26 constituencies of Masvingo the harvested maize as drought relief, This time, the distribution pattern would be decided according to the demands of food since most families had a bumper harvest last season” he said. A recent tour of the projects revealed that the crop is set for harvesting in the next few weeks.