Chronicle Editor
Midlands Bureau Chief
THE Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) has commended the Government for financing the purchase of agricultural inputs by urban and peri-urban farmers as part of measures to increase food production in the country.
As the farmers expect to start receiving farming inputs for the 2021/2022 farming season under the Climate-Proofed Presidential Inputs Scheme, popularly known as Intwasa/Pfumvudza, ZFU has called on urban and peri-urban farmers to register for them to benefit from the scheme.
Intwasa is a concept aimed at climate-proofing agriculture by adopting conservation farming techniques and involves use of small plots and applying the correct agronomic practices for higher returns.
The Intwasa/Pfumvudza programme, designed for small-scale farmers will this season benefit 2,3 million households in the communal, A1, small-scale commercial farming and old resettlement sectors to produce cereals, oilseeds and legumes in the forthcoming summer cropping season.
Under the programme, each farming household will get an input package comprising 10kg maize seed, 5kg sorghum, 2kg pearl millet, 5kg soya bean, 2kg sunflower/castor bean (castor bean will be inter-cropped in the Intwasa crops) and 5kg sugar beans or 5kg cowpeas or roundnuts.
Some farmers will get 5kg of summer wheat, long season variety, 2x50kg of Compound D fertiliser, 1x50kg top dressing fertiliser, and chemicals for fall armyworm or stalk borer.
The seed types and varieties will depend on the farming region.
Previously, the Presidential Input Scheme was only limited to rural communities, but it is now being extended to urban and peri-urban farmers.
In an interview on Friday, ZFU director Paul Zacharia said the coming season 2022/2023 has seen a lot of planning by the Government.
He said Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers have already started doing pot holing creating the basic requirement ahead of the season.
The distribution of inputs is set for this week.
“Committees that are responsible for input distribution are already busy with that responsibility. Now this is happening in September and our season begins mid-October to end of November and so by the end of October with the first rains, our farmers will be ready to put the seed in the ground,” said Mr Zacharia.
Farmers across the country have intensified land preparation for them to attain high yields. Agricultural Rural Development and Advisory Services officers trained farmers on the programme.
“There are a lot of close collaborations with our farmers and all these preparations speak to the preparedness for the season. We have set targets for all commodities and with each commodity there are specific interventions created but the Government by way of inputs, markets and it’s all pre-determined,” said Mr Zacharia.
He said they are confident as farmers that if the country receives good rains this coming season and with the excellent state of preparedness, they are certain of positive results from the fields.
In the latest seasonal forecast, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) is predicting normal to above normal rains across the country.
In terms of crop production in urban and peri-urban areas, Mr Zacharia said they have a clear plan working with local authorities to ensure maximum food production.
“We are working with local authorities across the country for the purposes of encouraging compliance with environmental issues because some farmers have been cultivating along stream banks and closer to the roads,” he said.
Mr Zacharia urged urban and peri-urban farmers to be organised so that they benefit from the Pfumvudza/ Intwasa programme.
“We commend the Government for financing the purchase of agricultural inputs by urban and peri-urban farmers as part of measures to increase food production. So, we have a drive to get all the peri-urban farmers on the national data base,” he said.
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