Embrace farming as a career choice

ADWELL KASOLE (25) is a full-time farmer who operates in Mvurwi, Mashonaland Central and ever since his wife Thelma Chinomona (24) joined in last year it has become a family business.

He graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture at Shamva Agricultural College.

“I started my Diploma in Agriculture in 2015, then went to Henderson Livestock Research station from 2016 to 2017 where I was trained on livestock rearing and I passed with a distinction,” he said.

“I finished my diploma last year and while I was at college I managed to interact with other farmers, which enabled me to know more about the farming business.’’

Kasole and his wife, who also studied agriculture, have been working side-by-side since last year.

The couple grows maize under Command Agriculture as well as poultry and cabbage farming.

“We grow cabbages all year round and we get some 2 000 heads of cabbage per harvest,” Kasole said.

“Every five weeks we sell about 200 birds to individuals in our local community as well as to butcheries.”

“I started farming when I finished my diploma. Both my wife and I have the same qualifications, but none of us could secure employment, so we decided to venture into farming,” he said.

His decision to take up farming is paying dividends. He is happy about his farming business.

Although his business is booming, Kasole still struggles to find good markets for his produce. Capital is still a problem too.

“As a young entrepreneur, I can’t access capital to realise my full potential in farming,” he said. To him, farming is a business, not a part-time job. “I am a full-time farmer and I would like to work very hard so that I can grow my farming business,” the young farmer said.

Kasole has four workers on his farm and employs casual labourers whenever there are other pressing activities.