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Isdore Guvamombe
The road from Mazowe to Mvurwi turns due north, burying behind it acre upon acre of vast maize and tobacco farming land.
After Tsatse River Bridge, the road snakes up a huge ridge after-which, the run down gives the eye an expansive view juxtaposing a mountain to the left and vast lust green fields to the right.
Most of the commuters using the road have often wondered what the lush greenery is, for, this is a new crop in the province.
Welcome to Makumbiri Farm in Mazowe Dsitrict owned by Mrs Ruth Tsitsi Mugweni.
It is a wintry June mid-morning. A tractor with a trailer on tow rattles to a grinding halt by field of a lush-green macadamia trees.
The driver- a short old man- jumps off with an unexpected agility that defies his age, leaving the groggy diesel engine running.
Thereafter, workers start loading the “brown gold” the new nickname for macadamia nuts in Mashonaland Central, into a trailer with security guard clad in black military fatigue, monitoring.
The 10 hectares of lush green trees are planted in a grid system and whichever way, you cast your eye, the lines are clear and straight.
“I planted these macadamia trees as a pilot project five years ago. I am having my second harvest this year. I have learnt a lot from this pilot project and am in it to stay.
“I have a planation of 150 000 seedlings and farmers willing to work with me are free to come and discuss. I have an agronomist and supporting service plus machinery for peeling, cracking and drying.” Says Mrs Mugweni.
Her vision is to work with many farmers and create a macadamia nuts hub, plus value addition.
“I want to help as many farmers as possible join macadamia nuts farming in line with the creation of a Middle Income Economy’s Vision 2030.
“Before I export anything, I want to serve the local market. I want to work with as many farms as possible so that we become huge producers,” she says.
The huge seedbed, she says, is meant to help many farmers in the province, who have been finding it hard to travel long distances to Chipinge and Chimanimani, the main farming areas of macadamia nuts.
There are two types of seedlings, those from cuttings and those tap-rooted and developed from seeds.
“Our seedlings are tap-rooted because we felt the ones from cuttings which we used on our first crop, are easily affected by wind and we have to support them.
“We then decided to do tap-rooted seedlings so that farmers do find it hard to protect them from wind. I had to plant pine trees as windbreak for my first 10 hectares.”
Macadamia nuts have emerged on of the trendy export crops but have since around 2000 been a preserve for the people of Manicaland.
It is through the experiment by the Mugweni family that today many people in Mashonaland Central are now venturing into the crop.
Whatever, it will take, Mrs Mugweni has proved to many in the province that macadamia can also be grown in Mashonaland Central.
“I am confident we will have many farmers on it. I urge farmers to plant by the rainy season so that the first run of the crop is rain-fed, before irrigating.
“I see Zimbabwe growing big in terms of exports of the crop. But for now, we want to satisfy the local market,” she said.
Mrs Mugweni is confident that there will be a serious uptake by small and large scale farmers.
Macadamia is the latest crop to attract good foreign currency and many farmers could cash in on it
Online Reporter
leeroy