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Sharon Shayanewako
Unions have commended Agritex for rolling out training programmes to hone farmers’ skills in running farming as businesses on the backdrop of good agronomic practices crucial for boosting under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme.
This comes as the country is seized with adopting strategies that will transform the agriculture sector and enable it to play its expected role in the attainment of Vision 2030.
More than 2,6 million farmers have since been trained under the Government climate-proofed Presidential Inputs Programme, Pfumvudza/Intwasa.
The number represents a considerable jump from the 1,9 million farmers that had been trained during the corresponding period last year with those just joining the programme also receiving training. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president, Dr Shadreck Makombe yesterday said the rise in the number of farmers who are taking up training was a sign that there was going to be respectable carry-over stocks in the country.
“Training of farmers to adopt good agronomic practices coupled by treating farming as a business is a positive step towards achieving food security. Most farmers have realised that the Pfumvudza/Intwasa concept is important, hence they are taking up this training.
“Pfumvudza is the way to go in terms of ensuring food security and sustainability. The increase in farmers receiving training is a sign that the nation will be self-sufficient in terms of food,” explained Dr Makombe.
Zimbabwe Integrated Commercial Farmers Union (ZICFU) president, Mrs Mayiwepi Jiti chipped in saying the delivery of extension services to farmers was key and would increase their production capacity.
“The delivery of extension services will result in farmers producing substantial tonnages bolstering the national food security immensely since they practice Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation agriculture, which has the potential of enhancing the yield.
“We commend Agritex for working closely with farmers and educating them on proper land management and agricultural production. About 90 percent of our A1 farmers who benefited from the land reform of 2000 are not trained and hence the dissemination of information and training will help them improve on yield quality, a move which will eradicate food shortages at household level,” she said.
Mrs Jiti added that more than 70 percent of the population was into agriculture, therefore capacitation of farmers was a great move, which would benefit the nation at large.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development chief director responsible for Agriculture Advisory Services Professor Obert Jiri yesterday revealed that training of farmers had been up-scaled to ensure that they adopted good agronomic practices in line with the push to ensure the nation is food secure.
Prof Jiri further noted that Agritex’s core mandate was to train farmers on various technical issues and technological innovations, as well as farming concepts, for example, the current Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme.
Meanwhile, the Government has assured farmers that they would get sufficient inputs under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme. This year, the inputs are being matched with the various agro-ecological regions in which farmers are situated to ensure optimum productivity thereby guaranteeing food security for the country.
The good rains, which were forecast by the predicted by the Meteorological Services Department coupled with the massive roll out of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme will increase the country’s food self-sufficiency and food security and nutritional variability.
Online Reporter