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Victor Maphosa Mash East Bureau
The people of Mudzi and Mutoko have welcomed the provincial grain swap programme that was launched in Mashonaland East recently, saying it will ensure they will have maize to vary their diet despite living in areas where maize growing is affected by low rainfall.
Under the grain swap programme, households can exchange up to 250kg of their traditional grains every five months for the same mass of maize.
Government is promoting the production of traditional crops such as sorghum, pearl millet and finger-millet in drier agro-ecological regions, but farmers will be allowed to exchange their grains for maize.
Villagers in such regions, who grow traditional grains like sorghum and millet, have been experiencing a hard time, accessing maize whenever they want to prepare sadza from maize meal.
However, with the introduction of the grain swap scheme, farmers no longer have to worry about not having their staple food.
The swapping will be done on a 1:1 on mass and a household can swap up to 250kg every five months.
In Mashonaland East, the launch was held in Mudzi District, and was presided over by Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mr Tavabarira Kutamahufa.
“We commend this programme and I want to call on every household in these regions to continue growing traditional small grains,” he said.
“These (traditional grains) are suitable with the conditions here where rainfall is always average to below average. So if you continue focusing on these grains, you will never starve.
“Now that the Government has introduced this (grain swap) scheme, even if you want sadza from maize, you will surely have it after easily swapping your sorghum or millet with maize.”
The grain swap scheme, said Mr Kutamahufa, would ensure no one goes without maize.
This summer cropping season was projected to have normal to below normal rains, and growing traditional grains, which were drought resistant, was expected to cushion farmers.
“So, to households in Mutoko and Mudzi, please increase production of traditional grains,” he said.
Mr Kutamahufa urged households to continue preparing their Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots as inputs were available. A villager, Gogo Goronga who took the opportunity to swap her traditional grains for maize, said the scheme had come at the right time.
“I have traditional grains in abundance but I have no maize. So when I heard of this scheme, I said to myself, I will definitely swap some of the traditional grains with maize and today, I brought the traditional grains and swapped with maize.
“I have children who also like to eat sadza from maize meal and it is good also to have sadza from maize meal.
“So we welcome this scheme. Therefore, we will confidently continue to grow traditional grains, which we have always been doing well in this region,” said Gogo Goronga.
Online Reporter