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Canditar Chapanduka, Chronicle Reporter
THE Government has established an online platform to give sound farming advice and tips as the country’s agricultural revolution gathers momentum.
The Second Republic has consistently empowered farmers to eliminate guess work in the production of food for the nation.
The strategies put in place have started paying big dividends as for the first time in many years, Zimbabwe will not need to import grain as it has enough reserves to last 13 months.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, to buttress the boom in the agricultural sector, has launched a round the clock platform on WhatsApp to guide farmers, called Agric Tips 365 under the philosophy of going 4growth (G4G2023) that is anchored on a seamless flow of valuable Agric-related information to instantly attend, respond to and resolve farming-specific inquiries, issues, and emerging concerns, the platform is firmly setting the country on course to reach greater heights.
The Ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr John Basera, in a statement on Tuesday said: “Going for growth is the only way to empower farmers and assure the nation’s economic transformation, agriculturally. The advisory tips shall focus on aspects of technical production, marketing, and Agri-premiership covering crops, livestock, fisheries, and animal health issues in 3 languages namely English, Ndebele, and Shona,” he said.
“Pursuant to the national Vision 2030 philosophy, no one will be left behind as these farming tips must reach every farmer in the country, as such I am redirecting that every ward creates a WhatsApp platform to be used to share these tips with the respective ward farmers,” said Dr Basera.
He said extension officers inclusive of Vets and Agritex are the admins of the ward WhatsApp group like the AgricTips365-ward 23 Mazowe.
“Similarly, all provincial directors and district heads must ensure these platforms are created and operationalised with immediate effect. Further, active participation at this level is expected to provide the necessary prompt guidance on farmer requests,” he said.
Zimbabwe farmers union executive director Mr Paul Zakariya said continuous farmer training is critical to the success of any agricultural revolution. The technological space has been advancing, climate change has also presented new challenges and consumer tastes have changed over time.
“It is therefore important that farmers be trained and equipped with new production techniques that move along with the times,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has issued an alert on the January disease, that is a deadly cattle disease transmitted by brown ear ticks.
“The signs seen in cattle affected by January disease are difficulty in breathing, bloody watery dung, and foamy discharge from the nose and mouth, watery and cloudy eyes, and swollen lymph nodes especially the ones behind the ears.
“Farmers are advised to Dip cattle weekly to kill ticks and prevent January disease and also to report to the nearest veterinary officer if they see any of the January disease signs in cattle,” reads the statement.–@NomqheleC
Online Reporter