admin
Ashton Mutyavaviri
WITH urbanisation on the rise and the resultant farming area scarcity, a local company has introduced an initiative called “lodgers garden” to address land accessibility challenges by tenants in urban areas.
A local company, Agriseeds, which specialises in the production of various seeds, has embraced the use of sacks when cultivating vegetables.
In an interview during the 113th the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show that ended last Saturday, Agriseeds technician Mr Happyriched Chiwara said tenants in urban areas face a challenge of not getting a piece land to plant vegetables from their landlords.
“There are people who cannot afford to buy a bundle of vegetables on a daily basis,” said Mr Chiwara.
“We saw it fit that one can use sacks to plant vegetables or whatever they wish to grow to supplement their diet.
“Through the lodgers’ garden method, people can easily plant their vegetables and feed their families.”
Mr Chiwara said one needs to have at least one sack or more, depending on the number of plants they wish to prow.
Once a sack is in place, the farmer then adds manure, for example chicken droppings or cow dung, and then mixing the soil with manure.
“You perforate a number of holes on the sides of the sack. Use Compound C fertiliser in each hole you dig, using a measurement of a bottle-top to supplement nutrients to the plant.
“Also, farmers must not use Ammonium Nitrate (AN) on their crops as this affects the taste of their vegetables,” said Mr Chiwara.
Once planted, the sacks can then be put on the balcony for those who live in flats, or at the backyard or behind a window.
All vegetable varieties can be grown in a sack, including lettuce, beetroot, onion, rape, covo and even maize.
Mr Chiwara said every citizen should have a means to grow vegetables, regardless of where they are.
“It is our dream that everyone in Zimbabwe has their own vegetable garden even if they come from areas where the soils are poor.
“One can take soil in other areas and put it in a sack and plant vegetables,” he said.
Agriseeds agronomist Mr Social Shava, said the lodgers garden was addressing problems brought by climate change.
“As the world’s population is growing, so is the demand for food. Due to climate change, there are possibilities of food shortages which means there will be nutrition deficiencies,” said Mr Shava.
“People in urban areas as well as rural areas should embrace this to address their nutritional needs.
“We are saying your health is your wealth. We do not want a scenario where one goes to a hospital and they are put on vegetable supplementary diet. Therefore, the lodger’s garden addresses their nutritional supplements as a family.”
Mr Shava added that anyone can make the lodger’s garden as no expert knowledge is required, adding that it is easy to manage.
The lodger garden can also be a source of income, as someone with a bigger space, can utilise it to plant more vegetables and sell around the community.
Added Mr Shava: “With climate change, there is need to use our water wisely. Through the lodger’s garden, one can use little water for their vegetables instead of wasting water on a big open garden.
“People must be productive and utilise the little they have to end hunger.”
Zimbabwe Integrated Commercial Farmers Union president, Mrs Maivepi Jiti, said the introduction of crop production in sacks “is a noble concept”, which allows more people to be involved in agriculture, thereby creating jobs, more income, and more food. “Sacks food production needs very limited space for cultivation, producing quality, high yield, and saves on labour, maximising productivity, sustainability, and profitability.
“Sack crop production has many advantages such as being environmentally friendly and it is a form of soil conservation as it does not degrade the soil through soil erosion, easy disease control, even though there is need for close monitoring,” said Mrs Jiti.
Online Reporter
dyton mupawaenda