Villagers urged to plant small grains

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
THE Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs, Ambassador Cain Mathema, has challenged villagers in the province to seriously grow small grains for commercial purposes to contribute to food security.

He said while the province was drought prone due to erratic rainfall, there was great potential as the province has vast underground and surface water sources which can be tapped into.

Minister Mathema said small grains shouldn’t not be grown for household consumption but for sale.

“People should take advantage of abundant water sources such as aquifers and rivers in the province and grow crops for sale and not just to feed their families. Growing for the family was a colonial mentality as white settlers didn’t want blacks who had been pushed to reserves to develop,” said Minister Mathema.

“The problem is that people want to remain communal farmers. They should start thinking commercially and grow crops for sale.”

The Minister’s vision is to ensure that all rural communities in the province have access to clean piped water and has commissioned piped water schemes at a number of institutions including schools in the province.

He called on the private sector including the civic society working in the province to partner the Government in the development of water sources such as dams to promote irrigation.

Most rural farmers in the country have not heeded calls to grow small grains which are resistant to dry weather conditions.

A new study entitled, “Evidence-Based Small Grains Value Chain Development In Zimbabwe,” by two local think tanks — Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU) and Knowledge Transfer Africa (KTA) has recommended the need to scale up efforts to strengthen small grain seed production for improved food security and poverty alleviation.

Agricultural experts say the supply of local small grain seed such as sorghum, rapoko, pearl and finger millet in Zimbabwe and a number of other African countries was limited or completely absent.

@ncubeleon