Over 3 000ha for winter maize
FOOD security in Masvingo and beyond is poised to improve significantly after sugar cane farmers in the Lowveld availed 1 100 hectares to take the hectarage for the province’s winter maize programme to over 3 000.
The farmers responded to an appeal by Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira for more irrigable land to boost the food security initiative
Minister Chadzamira had appealed to farmers with land to offer part of their land for the food initiative, which seeks to mitigate effects of successive droughts in Masvingo.
Farmers participating in the programme will get both tillage and inputs assistance from Government under the Command Agriculture initiative.
Masvingo Development Trust ( MDT), which is spearheading the winter farming project in Chiredzi had already secured 2 000ha of land for the programme from Lowveld sugar producer, Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe.
The additional land will add fresh impetus to the winter farming initiative, which will for the first time this year expand from covering maize only to traditional grains such as sunflower and sorghum.
Chair of the Commercial Sugar cane Farmers Association of Zimbabwe ( CSFAZ), Admore Hwarare said they would be officially handing over the land to Minister Chadzamira soon.
Cane farmers saw it fit to respond positively to Minister Chadzamira’s request to help Government after they were empowered to venture into commercial sugar cane production under the land reform programme, he observed.
“We managed to get a total of 1 162ha of land from sugar cane farmers across the Lowveld and this land will go towards winter maize production. Government, through Command Agriculture will meet all the expenses and farmers will deliver their harvest to
GMB to help build the country’s grain reserves and ease hunger.
“The cane farmers leadership will soon be meeting the Minister of State (Minister Chadzamira) to officially hand over the land that has been offered by our farmers and I want to congratulate you for the overwhelming response to help in the feeding of our nation through winter maize production,’’ Cde Hwarare said.
Cane farmers in Mkwasine estates offered the largest chunk of land with over 700ha followed by those at Hippo Valley estates.
In his appeal to cane farmers, Minister Chadzamira, who is patron, had
MDT asked cane farmers to donate at least one hectare of fallow irrigable land for the winter farming initiative.
This year, says it also wants to
MDT grow traditional grains with a sizeable hectarage earmarked for sorghum and sunflower seed. The seed will be used as a launchpad for a large-scale traditional grains project across Masvingo and other low-rainfall regions, which are not ideal for maize growing.
Last year, the winter maize initiative produced 1 186 tonnes of maize, which went a long way in easing food woes in Masvingo.