Online Reporter
Obey Musiwa
Herald Reporter
MARONDERA University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (MUAST) has handed over solar-powered multigrain threshers and engineering equipment to communities in Binga as part of efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture and increase traditional grain production.
The handover ceremony, held last Wednesday at Freedom Square in Binga, was attended by traditional leaders, development partners and heads of various Government departments.
The initiative complements Zimbabwe’s Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 (AFSRTS 2) for 2026–2030, a climate-proofing programme targeting agro-ecological regions 4 and 5, which are frequently affected by droughts and poor harvests caused by El Niño-induced dry spells.
Under the strategy, farmers in drought-prone areas are encouraged to focus on traditional grains such as sorghum and millet instead of maize, which is more vulnerable to erratic rainfall patterns.
Traditional grains are valued for their resilience to harsh climatic conditions and their high nutritional content.
Through the Presidential Input Scheme, farmers in these regions receive free inputs for traditional crops, helping them achieve reliable harvests despite low or inconsistent rainfall.
Although farmers have welcomed the Government’s push towards climate-smart agriculture, many have raised concerns over the labour-intensive nature of processing traditional grains after harvesting, saying this limits the amount of land they can cultivate.
Village Head Bvunzawabaya of Mutoko District said processing crops such as sorghum and millet requires significant labour and time.
“Many people cultivate sorghum and millet on small plots because of the labour-intensive work involved in processing these grains,” he said.
A baseline study conducted by MUAST in partnership with University College Cork (UCC) of Ireland in Binga and Mudzi districts revealed that processing a single 20kg bucket of traditional grains, from threshing to roasting, can take between eight and 12 hours.
In response to these challenges, the Government and development partners previously introduced diesel-powered threshers to assist smallholder farmers.
However, some farmers complained about high fuel costs and the strenuous manual cranking required to start the machines, challenges that particularly affected women and children.
MUAST later developed an innovative solar-powered thresher equipped with a push-button start system, eliminating the need for manual cranking.
The machine operates entirely on clean, renewable solar energy, requiring no fuel or oil, thereby reducing carbon emissions and operational costs for farmers.
MUAST Vice Chancellor Professor Justice Nyamangara said the university introduced the multi-grain threshers in support of Government efforts to fight hunger and malnutrition through increased traditional grain production.
“MUAST also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kulima Mbobumi, a Binga community-based organisation,” he said.
“This agreement will see 20 community members undergoing welding and fabrication training as part of this initiative.”
Prof Nyamangara said the training programme was essential for ensuring sustainable mechanisation.
“These trainings are about developing local technical capacity, ownership, maintenance skills and long-term sustainability,” he said.
“These threshers not only reduce processing time and manual labour but also improve food safety by minimising contamination risks.”
He said Government had realised that much of the country’s agricultural research historically focused mainly on maize, prompting renewed efforts to promote the cultivation and processing of traditional grains.
Office of the President and Cabinet Food and Nutrition Council director-general Mr George Kembo said empowering communities to manufacture and repair the machines would improve sustainability.
“MUAST is living up to the mantra of leaving no one and no place behind,” he said during the handover ceremony.
By the end of this month, four solar-powered threshers are expected to be distributed to Binga and Mutoko districts, areas highly vulnerable to climate shocks.
Through its partnership with UCC of Ireland, MUAST is expected to transform the post-harvest processing of traditional grains such as sorghum and millet in Zimbabwe.
