The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MANICA Bridge-based agricultural extension officer, Mr Leornard Jombe outshone his peers across the country to scoop the individual Best Pfumvudza Implementation award at this year’s Zimbabwe Agricultural Merit Awards.
Mr Jombe, who landed pole position for his outstanding efforts in successfully implementing the Government conservation farming initiative with 1 349 households was recently presented the award at a colourful ceremony held at State House.
Mr Jombe also snatched the second best overall extension officer award.
“This is something I hardly expected, let alone being on the podium with President Mnangagwa. It was a great achievement. The recognition itself was awesome to me.
“It did not come on a silver platter. I worked hard on the field together with the small-holder farmers that I am helping to successfully implement this conservation farming system,” said the former farm supervisor at the now defunct Kondozi Farm.
Government this year set a target to train 1,8 million farmers in Pfumvudza conservation agriculture.
To help achieve this ambitious goal, development partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Foundations for Farming (FfF) have been training Government extension officers to implement the Pfumvudza concept — which comprises conservation agriculture practices to help bring food self-sufficiency to Zimbabwe.
With a vast experience in different farming methods and livestock production, Mr Jombe also worked for Silverbore Farm in Rusape as assistant manager.
In 2006, he joined Agritex and moved to the Department of Livestock in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement.
Mr Jombe reverted to Agritex after the departments under the Agriculture Ministry merged.
One of the small-holder farmers under Mr Jombe’s armpit in Ward 24, Manica Bridge – Mrs Brenda Kaitano – recently won the second best livestock small-holder farmer of the year award.
