URBAN farmers in Bulawayo are hard at work tilling their pieces of land, with some racing against time as this Saturday is the last day for them to have planted their crops in order to get a good yield.

The farmers have been urged to take advantage of good rains falling in most parts of the country, but experts have set Saturday as the deadline for planting.

The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) predicted normal to above normal rainfall.

Agritex provincial officer in charge of Bulawayo and Matabeleland North, Mr Dumisani Nyoni said there is still time to plant grain crops and other varieties until January 15.

“Most places started receiving rains and for farmers the best advice is for them to plant their crops before January 15.

This will give the plants 90 days to mature and for them to get a good harvest at the end,” said Mr Nyoni.

When driving around Bulawayo, one observes small-scale urban farmers tilling the land, especially along the roadside.

An interesting observation is that, even though there is no actual formal demarcation, it is people who have a mutual understanding on where one’s field starts and ends.

The potential and desire for most of these urban farmers to till more land is there, but their stumbling block is inputs as they are expensive.

The rains are favourable this year and the potential for a good yield is high.

Others are racing against time as they are planting maize, while some have their plants at different stages of growth.

The Chronicle news crew met people like Mr Jabulani Moyo, who has a thriving business at this time of the year.

He had his six donkeys and a plough and is realising brisk business from farmers.

“When the rainy season sets in, people start looking for our services.

We charge US$10 per 10 lines to plough the land for people.

There are many people planting maize and they want their land to be prepared.

Last year it was the same,” said Mr Moyo, who resides in Pumula.

Ms Gertrude Siwela from Pelandaba was following Mr Moyo, who was whipping his donkeys into a straight line as they were pulling a plough.

She was planting maize on her plot.

She said the reason she did so late was that she could not afford seed from the shops.

“Seed is very expensive and I could not buy it.

Some of the maize is left over from what I got from last year’s yields and I decided to use it this year.

Inputs are very expensive and as farmers we appeal to Government to also consider us when they distribute inputs,” said Ms Siwela.

The news crew also found Ms Edda Ndlovu, with hoe in hand, preparing mounds for her sweet potato plants.

She also said the biggest challenge was the high price of seed.

“I want to till more land so that I can feed my family.

But the problem is that the seed is very expensive and also, we don’t get inputs when they are handed out by Government.

So, we make do with what we have so that we can at least get one or two buckets of maize that we can grind into mealie-meal.

Even the sweet potatoes are a good delicacy in the morning. This will eventually cut on food costs at home for a couple of months,” said Ms Ndlovu.

Asked if she had practised the Intwasa/Pfumvudza project in her field, Ms Ndlovu said she tried but ran out of seed.

“We can’t do Gatshompo because we don’t have the inputs. I tried to do it on my own last year, but couldn’t.

I dug the holes, but getting the fertiliser on my own and the seed was costly hence I needed to do half the field.

We would love to be in the programme like everyone else who is,” said Ms Ndlovu.

Ms Virginia Moyo urged Government officials to distribute more inputs so that all can benefit.

“We appeal to the powers that be for them to help us also get these inputs.

This maize that I’m tilling will give me some food for my family to survive.

Why not maximise on the small pieces of land that we have and practise Gatshompo like others.

I have the labour but the inputs are out of reach,” said Ms Moyo.

Last year a total of 20 000 urban farmers in Bulawayo metropolitan province received agricultural inputs for the 2021/2022 farming season under the climate-proofed Presidential Inputs Scheme, popularly known as Intwasa/Pfumvudza.

In the previous season, Bulawayo farmers harvested 5 000 tonnes of maize.

Intwasa is a concept aimed at climate proofing agriculture by adopting conservation farming techniques and involves use of small plots and applying the correct agronomic practices for higher returns.

The Intwasa/Pfumvudza programme, designed for small-scale farmers will this season benefit 2,3 million households in the communal, A1, small-scale commercial farming and old resettlement sectors to produce cereals, oilseeds and legumes in the forthcoming summer cropping season.

Riding on the success of the Governmen+t-funded scheme during the 2020/21 agriculture season, the programme has this year attracted interest from many farmers in Bulawayo, mostly youths who did not participate last season.

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