Mangwe villagers adopt new farming concept
TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
Villagers in Mangwe district, Matabeleland South Province have adopted the farmer-field school concept in a bid to promote food security at household level.
According to research, the farmer-field school are a group-based adult learning approach that teaches farmers how to experiment and solve problems independently.
Agricultural extension supervisor for Mangwe district, Tryphina Ncube said the project is assisting communities to alleviate poverty.
“This project is really assisting the communities to maintain food security at household level. The enhanced resilience for vulnerable households project promotes sustainable agro-ecology practices in dry land crop production through experiential learning at the farmer-field school,” Ncube said.
The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee Rural Livelihoods Assessment had projected that nearly 5.5m rural dwellers would be food insecure during the drought peak last year.
Ncube said livestock production was the backbone of the agricultural economy within the province.
“It is being supported by the promotion of fodder crops to meet livestock nutritional needs during the drier months of the year when the veld has been depleted as well as promoting best practices in rangeland management,” he said.
Ncube said the communities have come up with easy and affordable topdressing fertilisers.
She said the community has put in place a thermal compost heap in preparation for the next season.
The Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme recorded an average of 1.4 tonnes per hectare from 5.28 tonnes per hectare the previous summer cropping season due to failure by farmers to observe conservative farming methods.
In the 2022/2023 summer cropping season, the government is planning to include herbicide and water retention enhancers in input packages and capacity building on water-harvesting technology to be prioritised.
Maize, sorghum and sunflower will be mandatory crops for each household in higher rainfall areas, and sorghum, millet and sunflower in lower rainfall areas, while discouraging maize in low rainfall area.
