Online Reporter
Freedom Mupanedemo
Midlands Bureau
In a pioneering move for sustainable energy and agricultural enterprise, Gweru farmer Mrs Matilda Manhambo, has commissioned a 44-kilowatt solar plant at her Kupfuma Ishungu Farm, feeding excess power into the national grid.
A retired civil servant turned diversified agribusiness owner, Mrs Manhambo invested US$60 000 in the solar installation to ensure a reliable power supply for her horticulture, livestock, poultry and butchery operations.
With the farm requiring only 10 kilowatts, the remaining capacity is being supplied to the national network through an agreement with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company.
She was also allocated a farm in Botswana to help that country with the supply of vegetables in recognition of her sterling work.
Her Gweru enterprise operates butcheries that serve as ports for the farm’s primary selling outlets. To cut on power expenses, Mrs Manhambo said she decided to invest in renewable energy and commissioned a solar plant.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by the Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary Dr Edgar Seenza and Botswana’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Her Excellency Sarah Molosiwa.
In her speech, Ambassador Molosiwa commended the farmers’ initiatives, saying the region requires such investments to ensure self-sustenance.
“The region requires thinking outside the box. We need to put more efforts on infrastructure development for us to be able to feed ourselves,” she said.
Ambassador Molosiwa said it is high time farmers embrace the Government’s call on production and productivity to stop unnecessary food imports.
“We can’t rely on imports when it comes to issues of food. If we are to grow, we need to do more on our land like what the farmer has done,” she said.
The Ambassador commended Kupfuma Ishungu Farm for the solar plant investment, which she said will go a long way in contributing electricity to the national grid.
“It is efforts like these that are being made by private entities that will see the country achieving reliable alternative energy sources, which are critical for sustainable development,” she said.
An engineering manager at ZETDC, Engineer Wonder Mangwana, said the solar plant was going to feed power into the national grid.
“What happens here is very simple. The amount of power being produced here is too much for the consumption at this farm. You will realise that they produce 33 more kilowatts than their usual consumption. This means that excess power can be fed to the national grid, where people from as far as Chipinge can also use it. So in essence, they will be banking such power and they might end up using their banked power in the time when there is no sunshine to generate power,” he said.
Mrs Manhambo said she invested in solar energy to complement Government efforts on the adoption of green energy and support her horticultural activities.
“We invested US$60 000 into this solar plant that has the capacity to produce 44 kilowatts against the 10 kilowatts required to power the farm, leaving the remaining power to be fed into the national grid,” she said.
Mrs Manhambo said that as horticultural farmers, they have a duty to produce all year round, adding that they needed to invest in solar power so that they have power all year round.
“Our activities require a constant power supply. This can only be achieved through such initiatives. Our Government is also calling upon us to adopt green energy. We are playing our part in that regard,” she said.
Mrs Manhambo said the farm now has over 22 permanent employees, adding that from time to time, they engage seasonal farmworkers.
“We now operate commercially. We have a Global Gap certification for peas, beans and flowers, so the farm exports its produce,” she said.
