By Tapiwanashe Mulenga
The name Edward Ganyani, is more associated with popular Mboma nightspots which are located in most high-density suburbs of Gweru.
The giant businessman Ganyani has turned a new leaf and now venturing into farming and aims to be one of the main suppliers of tomatoes in the Midlands province.
Mboma as known by most beer lovers is now a new farmer, with a field of tomato,which stretches 2.5 hectares along Matobo road at Stabile park, aims at value addition to generating more from the product.
With only a few years of farming, he now supplies his produce to OK Zimbabwe, TM Pick n Pay, Pote supermarkets, street vendors, and as far Masvingo, Zvishavane, Shurugwi, and Kwekwe.
In an interview, Mboma said he hopes to acquire more land to grow his produce and has already built an abattoir in the small piece of land.
“I did not benefit from the land reform programme, and hope to acquire more land and I have already built an abattoir which is serving the community well.
“I seek to implement value addition of the tomatoes to make tomato sauce, canned tomato and seed packaging and this time of the year is stressful for tomato farmers due to the cold temperatures that threaten the plants, said Mboma”
He indicated that to curb low temperatures, he makes use of greenhouses to protect the tomato plants from withering initiated by cold temperatures.
He urged tomato farmers to use variants in tomato seeds such as the Rio grande, tengera among others. Drip irrigation saves water and is effective in the provision of moisture to the ground. Various chemicals are used to get rid of plant pests that affect the quality of the tomatoes such as blemishes, red spider mites and blite.
The jovial new farmer said that land preparation is key in tomato farming and vital in reaching the desired results and manure helps to produce organic tomatoes with the supplement of ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
“Most consumers consider size, type of tomato and check if there are no blemishes on the tomato as many complain of a type of tomato which does not tender when cooked therefore it is important to do a careful analysis when choosing the right seed. Rio grande is good to go with as it has a mechanism that repel pests which entails less use of chemicals,” he added.
He also urged youths to adhere to farming as it is profitable and reliable. Youths can rent land and grow crops that complement horticulture as they have a quick market.
