Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
UMZINGWANE-based farmer Ms Mazwipa Mpunzi has acquired an automated soil auger machine that helps improve moisture retention in the soil, which will boost her climate adaptation while enhancing improved harvests.
The machine is fuel-powered and cost-effective as it requires 20 litres to cover six Intwasa/Pfumvudza plots. It is suitable for very dry areas as it can open up big basins to trap more water while ensuring hole uniformity.
A farmer can take 45 minutes to an hour to prepare holes in a plot using the automated soil auger compared to two or three days to prepare a plot using a hand hoe.
Ms Mpunzi said he bought the machine for US$180 using proceeds from farming. This farming season she has prepared nine plots and has five plots under maize, one under sorghum and one under pearl millet, one for ground nuts and another for velvet bean, which she uses to supplement her cattle.
“This farming season I used the automated soil auger machine to prepare my plots. I used 20 litres of fuel only in order to prepare six plots. It was very easy for me to prepare my plots this year when compared to the previous years,” she said.
“To prepare just one plot it took me 45 minutes to an hour. I first did markings so that I could properly space my holes.
“Farming has become easier for me as I’m able to follow the Intwasa concept conveniently. I expect improved harvest because my holes are deeper than before, which means they will trap more water.”
Ms Mpunzi, who is also the lead farmer of “Our Pride Farmer Field School” said they have received significant education on crop diversification, mixed cropping and conservation farming. The farmer field school has 30 members.
“We have gained vast knowledge in agriculture as a farmer field school. We now know what is useless in farming. What we used to dispose of, we now recycle to produce manure or animal feed. If farming is done properly, one can get a decent harvest regardless of the amount of land that has been planted,” he said.
“We now know that the types of crops that we grow have to be selected according to our ecological region. As farmers, we have also adopted fodder production, crop diversification, mixed farming, and conservation farming. Our target is to adopt new farming technologies as we go on to improve production.”
Matabeleland South acting provincial agricultural director for rural development services, Mr Mkhunjulelwa Ndlovu, said farmers were being encouraged to adopt mechanised climate-smart agriculture as it seeks to improve production to ensure food and nutrition security.
“Government has been encouraging farmers to adopt mechanised climate-smart agriculture. Most of our farmers countrywide are elderly people and mechanised agriculture makes it easier for them to produce under the Climate-proofed Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme,” he said.
“Farmers are urged to invest in such equipment, which will help them maximise their production. Farmers must run their operations as a business where they have to produce not only for consumption but to sell.”
Mechanising the agriculture sector is crucial to enable it to perform effectively and set the economy on a positive growth and recovery path through realisation of a potential gross domestic product (GDP) of 33 percent from 20 percent GDP contribution.
The Government is on record urging farmers to adopt a modern business approach to their farming operations.
It is important for practices such as hiring of equipment using money generated from farming to be internalised by farmers and develop their farms for increased production. — @DubeMatutu
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