Lowveld sugarcane farmers go back to school
SIXTY farmers have enrolled for a one-year certificate in sugarcane farming with Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo starting next month, an official has said.
The training seeks to empower farmers with new trends on sugarcane farming to increase productivity.
Zimbabwe Sugarcane Development Association chairman Mr Edmore Veterai said his organisation has partnered with the university to equip its members with relevant sugarcane farming skills and knowledge in line with the aspirations of Zim Asset.
“We have liaised with GZU Vice-Chancellor Professor Rungano Zvobgo on how the institution can help our members who are all sugarcane farmers. I knew how the Zvobgo family valued education through his brother the late Dr Edison Zvobgo. He said the university is eager to train our farmers and so far 60 have enrolled and will start the lectures soon,” said Mr Veterai.
He said after the course, he was hopeful that there will be increased utilisation of the land the farmers were allocated by the Government under the Land Reform Programme.
“We are producing more sugar here than other farmers in South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia where Tongaat Hullet operates. With this training, we wish to double our efforts in producing quality and adequate sugar for the country. This is in line with our country’s economic blueprint, Zim Asset,” he said.
GZU Gary Magadzire School of Agriculture and Sciences’ Department of Soil and Plant Science dean Professor Munashe Shoko who is also leading the programme said most lectures will be field-based.
“We have 60 farmers who are now ready to start their lectures from 17 February. A class should not exceed 100 students at university level otherwise we may have challenges. The training is mostly field-based and will be done in Chiredzi using practical demonstrations in their farms. This is science and it needs practicals with some bit of theory,” said Prof Shoko.
He said the modules were tailor-made to suit the needs and expectations of sugarcane farming in the Lowveld.
“We expect every sugarcane farmer to know how to test the potential of hydrogen of his soil (soil PH), to test the acidic and alkalinity. All these skills or knowledge can be acquired through training. The training is for one year and lectures are conducted during weekends after which farmers are given certificates in sugarcane farming,” he said.
He called upon the Government to make it mandatory for all farmers to be trained before they are allocated farming land if the nation wanted to address the issue of productivity among newly resettled farmers.
“We expect Government to use the issue of farming skills as the basis for one to get farming land especially sugarcane farms. Once that is done, we would not find a situation where farmers produce less than say 1 million tonnes of sugarcane per year. Our priority as a university is to help sugarcane farmers increase their yields despite weather conditions,” said Prof Shoko.
Indigenous farmers managed to deliver 1,1 million tonnes of raw sugarcane to Hippo Valley and Triangle Milling Companies in 2016.