admin
Mozambique intends to adopt Zimbabwe’s successful Pfumvudza farming model to improve crop output at household level in that country, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has said.
The model is climate-proof, ecologically-based and involves government farming input support to peasant farmers to boast output.
Since its adoption in Zimbabwe a few years ago, the country’s agricultural output has risen sharply, and also increased rural income levels.
Speaking after talks with President Mnangagwa, the Mozambican leader said he would dispatch a team to Zimbabwe soon to work-out modalities for Pfumvudza skills and knowledge transfer.
He also indicated his government’s willingness to host Zimbabwean farmers in Mozambique over a period of time to transfer the skills practically on the ground.
President Mnangagwa said Government came up with the Pfumvudza farming model not only to beat climate-induced droughts, but also Western sanctions which made food imports difficult.
“Zimbabwe has been suffering from food insecurity for many years, importing food, but because of sanctions we said we must produce our own food and we introduced a model of agriculture that guarantees food security at each household in the country,” he said.
“We have 3,5 million households, so we directed that each household must have adequate food at the household level with surplus so that they can send their children to school, we call it Pfumvudza, Intwasa.”
President Mnangagwa said the Government had now turned similar attention to wheat production, to end costly imports from uncertain source markets such as Ukraine.
“My brother (President Nyusi) asked when we met to say Mozambique would be willing to have farmers from Zimbabwe to come, they will give us land and do agriculture there over a number of years so that Mozambican farmers will learn on these skills and models we are using, so that we transfer the skills that we now have,” he said. – New Ziana.
Online Reporter