Small grains save the day for Mwenezi farmers
and observed the large herd of cattle.
There is a massive chicken run with the 540 layers and Mr Ncube says construction of other structures to put more chickens will start soon.
If successful, the projects could see Lupane and Matabeleland North becoming the jewel of Zimbabwe to reverse the stigma of underdevelopment.
Livestock is a big investment and source of food safety and nutrition in this part of the country. Estimates already suggest that Matabeleland North has more than 700 000 cattle with the potential to grow further if good husbandry practices are adopted.
“What’s happening here at Mazheke palace is farming. We have cattle and chickens,” said Mr Ncube in an interview. Mazheke is his family name.
Married to two wives, Mr Ncube said his wives are the ones running the chicken business while he focuses on cattle rearing.
“So far, we have 540 layers as a pilot project and they want to have more than 30 000. They are monitoring the project to see how productive it can be and if it can be able to supply the market,” said the youthful entrepreneur.
“So, after six months we will be having a proper understanding of how we would supply the market and build more fowl runs for the 30 000 chickens.
“I am concentrating on cattle and we started buying cattle about 18 months ago. All the cattle you see here save for calves we bought them.”
With 104 beasts so far, Mr Ncube is focused on the target of clocking 5 000 and saturating the national market.
“There will be a lot of business activity here. At this homestead we are going to have an abattoir where we would slaughter, have cold rooms to store and supply from here,” he added.
“We want to start a butcheries project across the country and we won’t sell live beasts.”
Mr Ncube’s cattle graze freely in the nearby forestry land while a feedlot has been prepared where some pastures will be grown for the pen fattening project.
Already over 40 jobs have been created at the homestead for the local villagers.
Once the fattening project starts and egg production is expanded, there will be more than 300 job opportunities, a huge contribution to the Second Republic’s development agenda and Vision for an Upper Middle Income Society by 2030, said Mr Ncube.
“We believe this will be something good for Lupane. We are happy to be doing something for our community. The country is striving to achieve its goals and as we are building an abattoir, we want to create employment and make sure that those people that are surviving on less than a dollar a day their lives will be changed in the next coming years,” he said.
“Come 2030, believe me, no one will be in poverty. We want to eradicate that.”
Mr Ncube said as the private sector they were taking the Government’s drive seriously hence creating jobs to improve people lives was no option.
He said he applies veterinary guidelines to ensure good animal health for his herd at a time when many farmers are being hit by the deadly Theileriosis or January disease.
His herd is made up of Brahman and indigenous breeds with supplementary feeding for calving cows.
Mr Ncube said he got the inspiration to start the cattle and beef business after studying the market trends.
His homestead has a solar-powered borehole system, which also supplies the whole community.
A product of Mathambo Primary School in Lupane and Mpumelelo Secondary in Zenka area of Nkayi where he transferred to after the death of his father when he started Form 1, Mr Ncube has paid tribute to the community for good working relations.
He organised a field day at his homestead last week to share his experiences and vision with veterinary services officers and get expert advice as he implements the project.
Mr Matron Moyo, one of the villagers employed at the homestead commended the Ncube family for contributing to the transformation of livelihoods in the community.
A neighbour from village 24B, Ms Tendai Ndlovu said women were the biggest beneficiaries as they no longer walk long distances in search of water for domestic consumption.
Mr Ncube’s uncle Mr Bongani Ncube is the project manager.
DESPITE poor rains induced by El Nino, Mr Shadreck Chakwakuka, a lead farmer under Chimbudzi Farmer Field School from Mwenezi Village in, Masvingo province, expects a good harvest after planting traditional grains and applying skills received from the farmer-field capacity building programmes.
Mr Chakwakuka planted three plots under sorghum, which did well, while three plots of maize were a complete write-off.
He is one of the few farmers in the southern region, who have a positive story to tell about the resilience and success of planting small grains.
A farmer field school is a groupbased learning process where farmers carry out experimental learning activities that help them understand the ecology of their farming practices. These activities involve simple experiments, regular field observations and group analysis.
Knowledge gained from these activities enables participants to make their own local specific decisions about farming management practices.
The Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa, initiated the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme a few years ago to counteract the low rainfall caused by climate change.
Pfumvudza/Intwasa has helped the country attain food security in the last three seasons, at the same time boosting farming incomes as subsistence farmers convert to small scale commercial growers.
Farmers in dry areas have been urged to grow traditional grains and those who took heed of this advice are better off this farming season.
“Prior to the farmer field school, we didn’t know much about good agricultural practices that we had to adopt in the face of climate change. We have received a great deal of knowledge such as the type of crops we have to grow, proper land preparation and choosing seed varieties, among other issues,” said Mr Chakwakuka.
“I’m now focusing more on producing traditional grains and I have realised that I made a good decision. For the past two years, I have managed to harvest despite our area receiving poor rains and this is the third year.
“We always had a mentality that we were supposed to plant maize and were only making losses.”
Ms Annemary Mutahwa, a member of Chimbudzi Farmer Field School, said capacity building efforts have helped improve their way of farming, including seed selection based on the ecological characteristics.
“Our farming activities have greatly improved because we now know the various pests and diseases that can affect our crops and how to handle them. We also plant a variety of crops like cow peas and use the leaves for mulch. I’m glad to be able to share this knowledge with other farmers,” she said.
Mr Tendai Masvasuke said he was no longer experiencing crop losses ever since he started producing small grains. He said the varieties he grows are Hwedza, Okashana, SV4 and Kuyuma because of their good attributes.
Mwenezi Ward 4 Agritex extension officer, Mr Jona Bukuvani, said the ward has two farmer field schools, Sitera and Chumbudzi.