admin
Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor
An eight member Senegalese delegation comprising women farmers, a mayor and Ministry of Agriculture officials were in Zimbabwe last week to have an appreciation of maize farming.
The delegation’s visit was facilitated by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Senegal, Mr James Maridadi. It was supported by Seed Co.
Sokhna Mbaye , the technical advisor to the Senegalese Ministry of Agriculture, was the head of mission while Mr Mouhamath Thiane was the interpreter.
Mr Thiane said they had three women maize farmers from the Saloum ecological zone in Senegal.
The delegation is a culmination of efforts by Ambassador Maridadi to ensure Zimbabwe helps Senegal to expand its agriculture, including provision of local seeds.
Mr Thiane said during their visit to Zimbabwe, they toured some farms to appreciate how they undertake agriculture.
“We went to Talana Farm in Chegutu where they (the women farmers) were learning more on how to grow blue berries, chilli, peppers and cucumbers,” he said. “It was something new as they had never seen blueberries or heard of them.
“They (women farmers) were here to learn more about growing maize and grain crops. They also wanted to learn how to manage horticulture farming with limited water sources.”
Seed Co, being the main sponsor of the trip gave the women farmers a tour of their facility in Stapleford, located a few kilometres north of Harare, where they learnt about seed production, grading and germination. They also learnt about methods of maximising yields.
The delegation was excited to meet Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni.
Said Mr Thiane: “She (Minister Nyoni) supported women empowerment in Senegal and praised Ambassador Maridadi for the collaboration with FEPROMAS (Federation of Maize Producers of Saloum).”
Established in 2012, FEPROMAS supports farmers in Senegal’s Fatick, Kaffrine, and Kaolack regions, building their access to financial institutions and various agricultural inputs.
The visit by the Senegalese delegation comes as the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme being implemented in Zimbabwe has been praised by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO’s) Livelihoods and Food Security Programme, which confirmed that the maize yield from the programme was higher compared to conventional farming.
Last year, over 2,3 million urban and rural households participated in the Pfumvudza programme and many got high yields.
This year, over three million households will participate in the Pfumvudza programme, with the Government declaring that Presidential Inputs under the scheme would be distributed in line with ecological regions to boost output.
Areas that generally don’t get more rains will get traditional grains.
Online Reporter