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Victor Maphosa-Mashonaland East Bureau
YOUNG farmers should fully utilise their land for maximum profits and earn the country the much-needed foreign currency, Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary-general Mr Paul Zakariya said.
Speaking after commissioning a solar-powered irrigation facility for young farmer Mr Brighton Zvomurema (29) in Marondera Mr Zakariya said financial institutions should support young people in agriculture.
In partnership with WeEffect, ZFU recently donated the solar-powered irrigation system to a young farmer who is into horticulture.
“Our youth initiative started way back in 2011 when we took a conscious decision to promote young farmers in agriculture first by bringing them to the fore and expose the work that they were doing.
“The idea there was to bring these young people together and ensure that their efforts are well appreciated and also that they could identify opportunities in agriculture for employability and other respectable courses.
“From 2015 we started a programme which was supported by UNICEF which was focusing on school dropouts and youth in communities and we were saying to them, even if you have dropped out of school, you still have a purpose and you are fit for life so we taught them technical skills, marketing, entrepreneurship and also we gave them opportunities to showcase their products and this here is one of the examples of growth that we have seen out of that initiative.
“So we continue to see these young people doing the work and this one is now exporting peas to European markets and it’s a huge step.”
He appealed to financial institutions to also come on board and assist young farmers.
Mr Zakariya called on young farmers who benefited from the land reform programme to use the land productively.
“Land must be utilised to its fullest so that we begin to reap the benefits of the land reform programme. It does not help in any sense to just own a piece of land where nothing is happening. If we do that, we would be letting the whole country down.
“Food security is a very important aspect of our economic development but it goes beyond that. We now want to speak beyond food security. We want to speak exports, bringing in fresh capital in the country. That is what we should be aiming. So those who have benefited, we celebrate with you, but we challenge you to produce.”
The solar power irrigation equipment will boost agricultural activities and ultimately increase production, thereby creating employment for the Wenimbe community and earning foreign currency for the farmer and the country at large.
Zvomurema draws water from Wenimbe Dam for his agriculture activities using the solar powered system to irrigate his crops.
Zvomurema thanked ZFU and WeEffect for the gesture saying it will go a long way in improving agriculture activities and boost production.
“I want to thank them for this gesture. We used to do farming on a small piece of land because of equipment challenge, but now we will maximise and export more. We have been given equipment that will enable us to put nine hectares under irrigation.
“We are into horticulture where we grow peas, green beans and other crops for export and local markets. I appeal to Government for a piece of land because at the moment I am renting here and it is difficult to invest.”
Online Reporter