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Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
CHAMINUKA Vocational Training Centre in Mt Darwin, through the assistance of ZimTrade, has embarked on the production of lucrative rock melons, which are in high demand in the United Arab Emirates and a number of European countries.
Rock melon is a type of sweet melon that is part of the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes squash, zucchini and watermelon.
The fruit has a rough, netted rind that can be white, tan or yellow in colour, and its flesh is typically orange.
Rock melons are touted to be rich in essential nutrients such as vitamins A and C, as well as dietary fibre, making them a popular choice for health-conscious consumers.
In an interview at the ongoing Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, Chaminuka VTC farm manager, Mrs Patience Danga, said production of the crop, which can fetch up to US$65 000 per tonne, had the potential to create jobs for youths and prevent them from engaging in such vices as alcohol and drug abuse.
The centre is exhibiting at the Show under the banner of the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training.
“We embarked on a trial run of the production of the crop in April this year with the assistance of ZimTrade and have discovered that its not difficult to grow as it takes 90 days to mature.
“At Chaminuka, we are training youths to grow the crop so that they can be productive and be self-sustaining instead of being idle and venture into substance and drug abuse.
“Our target is to produce mainly for export although we have discovered that demand is also high locally. The crop can fetch up to US$65 000 per tonne on the export market.”
Mrs Denga commended the Government for prioritising productivity in the education sector under the Education 5.0 policy, saying this was the only way the country can develop.
Also exhibiting under the Ministry are youths drawn from various places across the country.
Godknows Chakanetsa (20), who is into the production of beverages from the baobab fruit (mawuyu), also urged other young persons not to tempted to get into substance abuse but be productive with their lives.
“I started production of these beverages from mawuyu three years ago and I have also designed my own machine for the production and packaging of freezits.
“I thank President Mnangagwa for leading the initiative that emphasises production because we all have our talents that need to be harnessed so that they benefit us individually and as a country,” he said.
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