daniel chigunwe
Precious Manomano
Herald Reporters
Farmers are encouraged to prepare around 9,5 million plots for Pfumvudza/Intwasa this season to ensure that Zimbabwe remains food secure with the expected El Nino phenomenon and that farmers feed their own families and earn reasonable incomes selling their surpluses to supply the large urban markets.
With a maximum of five plots per smallholder household this will require almost 2 million households going for the maximum, or more than 3 million with an average of three plots each.
To address problems of low productivity, the Second Republic took a deliberate decision to introduce Pfumvudza/Intwasa farming concept and over the past three years this has transformed the lives of the majority of farmers across the country.
Smallholder farmers are advised to speed up digging of Pfumvudza/Intwasa holes to ensure that they take up three plots and above.
Over one million Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots have so far been prepared by farmers countrywide in preparation to plant for the season ahead.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Prof Obert Jiri encouraged farmers to embrace Pfumvudza/Intwasa/Intwasa techniques to enhance resilience to climatic shocks and also urging rural farmers to speed up digging of Pfumvudza/Intwasa holes to ensure that they take up three plots and above.
“We are targeting 500 000 beneficiaries in towns and 3m in rural areas. If we do that 9,5 million plots we have around 400 000 hectaresof Pfumvudza/Intwasa leading to food security.
So we are saying those three million in rural areas should be given inputs after completing three plots so that the nation becomes food self-sufficient.
We want farmers to increase on Pfumvudza/Intwasa planting holes,’’ he said. For national food self-sufficiency farmers need to grow at least twice as much as their own families require, and those surpluses are what is fuelling rural development as ever more cash enters the rural economy.
Last week, statistics from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development indicates that over one million households already finalising preparing their five plots of Pfumvudza/Intwasa as the country gears for food security.
The distribution of Pfumvudza/Intwasa inputs is currently underway in all provinces and the programme will be extended to 3,5 million households.
This season the programme will support five Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots per household with an agro-ecological region-specific crop input package for maize, sorghum, pearl millet, soya beans, sunflower, groundnuts, vegetables and African peas.
Under Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme soyabean is targeted at 6 230ha, sunflower 100 000ha and so is the main oilseed crop, sorghum 250 000ha, pearl millet 126 577ha, cotton 180 000ha giving a total of over one million ha of crops under Pfumvudza/Intwasa this summer season plus the large maize crop from the three ecological regions with good rainfall.
In line with the Government’s policy of climate proofing agriculture Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Dr Shadreck Makombe urged farmers to adopt conservation farming techniques that optimise land use and improve resilience to climate change.
He urged farmers to adequately prepare for the next season adding that farmers should stagger planting in case of any eventualities.
“Farmers should not plant their crops at the same time,Pfumvudza/Intwasa is essential to ensure food security and boost household incomes by selling the surplus. Pfumvudza/Intwasa is the only way to go in terms of ensuring food security and sustainability,’’ he said.
Recently farmers who were interviewed by the Herald indicates that they were grateful for the support of inputs under the Presidential Input scheme spearheaded by the Government to ensure that they get enough to feed their families and sell the surplus.
Mrs Theresa Mandere of Banket thanked the Government for timeous distribution of Pfumvudza/Intwasa inputs adding that this has benefited vulnerable groups who struggled to make ends meet.
“We are grateful for this noble initiative which will go a long way in sustaining families.
“Government has rescued many households. We are grateful for this support. Getting inputs on time will mean a good harvest ahead of us,” she said.
Mrs Clara Mawire said she is grateful to receive inputs on time adding that she is hoping to increase hectares so as to achieve a bumper harvest the following season.
Mr Farai Chamunorwa of Banket said Government’s commitment needs to be appreciated as it symbolises great hope in the next season.
“This is a commendable effort made by the Government. We are likely to achieve a bumper harvest in the following season since we got our inputs on time,” he said
On January 25 this year in Dakar Senegal, President Mnangagwa boldly declared that the country had since turned the corner in its agricultural revolution strides with the Second Republic having attained food self-sufficiencythrough Pfumvudza/Intwasa concept.
It was also agreed that Pfumvudza/Intwasa will be replicated across Africa after positive results were produced in Zimbabwe.
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