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George Maponga in Masvingo
Hundreds of rural households across the arid Mwenezi are benefiting from a joint project to grow cattle-feed grass and paprika under irrigation at Lapache Irrigation Scheme in the district.
The villagers who own plots at Lapache have so far put 65 hectares under paprika and Rhodes Reclaimer grass for making cattle feed that is irrigated using water from Manyuchi Dam.
The project is a joint venture between the local community and a non governmental organisation (NGO) Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT).
Harvesting of the paprika is expected to start end of next month while the cattle-feed grass is part of a project between the two parties to improve quality of the beef herd in Mwenezi through production of hybrid cattle.
According to Mwenezi Rural District council chief executive Mr Albert Chivanga the paprika from Lapache will be processed at a new factory being built at Rutenga Growth point.
SAT will assist the community to process the paprika as value addition has higher returns.
“The factory where the paprika harvested from Lapache Irrigation Scheme will be processed is already under construction and the project also entails building of big shades where the crop will be stored before processing,”he said
“This is yet another feather on Rutenga’s cap as the growth point continues to expand its industrial base. We are also happy that under the joint venture with SAT communities around Mwenezi are also boosting their household incomes.”
SAT is also already rolling out an expanded paprika production project that will benefit more communities across Mwenezi and neighbouring Chiredzi in a move tailored to ensure more throughput for the Rutenga processing plant.
Paprika is also set to be grown along the banks of the perennially-flowing Mwenezi River where irrigation water is easily accessible and Mr Chivanga disclosed that researched had confirmed the efficacy of growing paprika even in arid conditions.
Online Reporter