Farming in the modern day era
INNOVATIVE farmer, Mr Oliver Waziweyi, is reaping the dividends of his sweat in citrus farming.
The seventy-three-year-old has been sharing his vast farming knowledge in citrus tree grafting and budding through tutorial video clips.
Mr Wazviweyi of Howth Farm, Plot 1, exports his products.
After officials in the Ministry of LANDS, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement bumped into one of the tutorial clips on social media, the Agriculture Ministry’s communications and advocacy officer, Mrs Barbra Machekano, tracked Mr Waziweyi down in the thickets of Vumba.
“People like him should be given a platform to share their knowledge and expertise. He is a depository of knowledge and wisdom. We need to document his knowledge and exploit his zeal to educate farmers across the country.
“After watching his video clip, we were inspired and saw it fit to track him down to Vumba to hear his side of the story,” said Mrs Machekano.
Since Mr Waziweyi’s video clips went viral on WhatsApp and Facebook, he has been inundated with calls from as far as the United Kingdom and America, with people asking to tap into his vast citrus production knowledge for a fee.
“I used to be a teacher, and I really enjoy imparting farming skills. I do this to avoid going with all my wisdom to the grave, that would be really selfish. I want this knowledge to be passed on to future generations even when I am long gone. In my community, I impart this knowledge to primary and secondary learners, even those in ECD.
“The learners are always welcome to see how certain things are done at my farm. I do not charge them anything, that is my contribution to this community’s development,” said Mr Waziweyi.
Mr Waziweyi has a four-hectare farm where he grows maize, citrus fruits, strawberries, guavas and mangoes, among other crops.
The citrus fruit varieties include oranges, Persian lime, tangarines, clementine, lemons and grapefruits.
He also has a nursery of about 200 plants, which are for sale.
Mr Waziweyi also produces flowers for export. These include the King
Protea, Caroline and Succession, Pin Cushion and High Gold.
“I have a nursery for the King Protea flowers. They fetch good prices on the export market. For years I have been making lots of money from selling flowers. I got the Caroline and Succession, Pin Cushion and High Gold from my friends who are abroad,” he said.
Born in 1947, Mr Waziweyi used to work on a farm in South Africa.
After acquiring his valuable skills, he returned home to start his own farming project.
“They encouraged me to read lots of agricultural books and this helped to develop my farming acumen,” said Mr Waziweyi.
The old man’s son, Edmond, is also now a good farmer.
The thirty-seven-year-old farmer is producing coffee for export at Okney Farm in Vumba.
He currently has two hectares under 4 000 plants of coffee.
Edmond revealed that he works closely with a Switzerland coffee company, Nespresso.
“They are paying US$6 per kilogramme for my coffee beans. I have a target to put 50ha under coffee,” he said.