Faith Muringai & Sheron Mangisi
Farmers in Midlands province are expecting a bumper harvest for maize and traditional grains this year than previous years.
According to the latest Crop and Livestock Assessment report issued by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, in the Midlands province, Gweru district has maize and traditional grains to last four to six months while Shurugwi and Mberengwa have maize and traditional grains to last ten to twelve months.
“The good harvest is attributed to an increase in the amount of rainfall received, which was well distributed throughout the season, increase in the area under climate proofed technologies and initiatives such as Pfumvudza/ Intwasa, ” read the report.
Speaking at a field day in Shurugwi last week, Honourable Robson Nyathi of Shurugwi North district said that he is happy that Shurugwi district has more than enough maize and traditional grains this year.
He also applauded the Pfumvudza/ Intwasa farming scheme for contributing to a bumper harvest this year.
“So far I have attended more than 20 field days in Shurugwi and I am to attend five more next week and this shows that pfumvudza was largely accepted by farmers, ” said Hon Nyathi.
He also said that pfumvudza is the way to go as land preparation is very important in farming as this is also in line with the National Development Strategy, vision 2030.
