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Canditar Chapanduka, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT has started giving chiefs, village heads and headmen inputs to revive the Isiphala Senkosi concept to ensure food security in communities.
Isiphala Senkosi is a grain reserve that is located within chiefs’ homesteads and provides food for vulnerable members of the community especially during times of drought.
The Isiphala Senkosi programme was traditionally reserved for chiefs, but in April this year, Cabinet resolved to extend it to all traditional leaders countrywide.
Bulawayo and Matabeleland North acting provincial director for agricultural development services Mr Dumisani Nyoni said they are giving out inputs to chiefs as well as headmen and the village heads in rural communities for the first time to promote the Isiphala Senkosi program.
“We used to give inputs to the chiefs only, however, this time the case is different as the headman and the village heads are also getting the inputs. There are plots that are given to them to cultivate and the communities are to partake in the growing of the crops as it will benefit the villagers. There will be food grown out of those fields,” he said.
“The plots that they are going to be cultivated on are to be monitored during the Isiphala Senkosi program. They will be monitored up to 100 days by the village heads and the chiefs to ensure that crops are well looked after.”
He said Chiefs are given more inputs to enable them to grow crops on up to a hectare of land or more.
Chief Gampu from Tsholotsho commended Government for giving them inputs for the programme.
Chief Siansali from Binga said he is happy that Government decentralised the Isiphala Senkosi programme.
“Communities are there to help in the cultivation of the fields because they are going to benefit from the harvests of the fields.
“I’m happy that they decentralised the program and divided it according to the villages so it will be easy to manage how people are carrying out the cultivation of the fields,” he said.
Chief Dakamela said they have the fields that they were given for the Isiphala Senkosi concept and the preparations have started.
“Communities used to cultivate the fields but now we have initiatives that have started on training specific people in the villages on how to be good farmers in order to obtain good yields,” he said. -@NomqheleC
Online Reporter