adminLovemore Kadzura in Rusape
FARMERS who embraced and adopted the new method of growing potatoes in sacks as opposed to the common way of growing the crop underground are crying foul as the expected bumper yield did not materialise at all.
The method spectacularly flopped as it proved to be non-profitable and high-risk venture to the extent that most farmers realised zero kilogrammes and those lucky got not more than 3kg from 50kg and 90kg sacks.
The production of potatoes mainly in woven polythene sacks was adopted from Israel and United States of America where natural means are not possible to grow the crop. Many farmers fell in love with sack potato production as they saw it as a low-input project with very high returns as opposed to growing underground, but during harvest time they got a rude shock as they realised that they spent months irrigating, applying fertilisers and chemicals on a plant with no offsprings.
Even urban dwellers also joined the bandwagon as they thought they had struck gold with sack potato.
A number of farmers who spoke to The Manica Post were bitter and vowed not to repeat the ‘‘same mistake’’ and they also accuse the proponents of the method as not truthful.
Leading Headlands farmer Cde David Guy Mutasa, who had a whopping 11 000 plants under sack production, said although he managed marginal break even he would not use the method again.
“Sack potato production is a very risky and unviable venture.
“Many farmers wasted resources experimenting on it.
“I had 11 000 plants of sack potato and I was expecting at least 20kg per sack as the proponents of the method were saying, but come harvest time we were shocked because the highest we got was 3,5kg.
“We managed to achieve a marginal break even, but considering the experts we have at the farm and we adhere to every step needed in the production, the conclusion is that the method flopped and we are not going back to it.
“If a big farmer like me who has the experts and resources can manage only 3kg so it means smaller farmers did not reap anything. We are reverting to the traditional way of growing underground which is reliable and profitable,” said Cde Mutasa.
Some farmers said the potato taste was very bad and they struggled to find markets once consumers got to know that it is from the sack despite being very big.
Online Reporter