The ManicaPost
Chenai Mutasa Post Correspondent
GOVERNMENT’S agricultural initiative, the Pfumvudza programme, is progressing well following the good rains being received countrywide.
A close look at the current state of the maize crop under the Pfumvudza programme reveals a healthy and promising crop.
The Pfumvudza programme which has been described by former MDC-Alliance official, Mr Obert Gutu on his Twitter handle as a ‘game changer’, is proving to be a real game changer as farmers nationwide are determined to see the success of the programme.
Most farmers under the Pfumvudza programme have received 5kg seed maize, 50kg of Compound D fertiliser and 50kg of Ammonium Nitrate fertiliser and have already planted their crops.
The Pfumvudza programme has been adopted by Government as a measure to address the problems of low productivity, low production and low profitability of farming, which continue to negatively affect the food security situation in the country.
Because of the low productivity, the country has become a perennial net importer of cereal grains amounting to US$800 million annually.
This increases pressure on the fiscus as we have to source foreign currency for grain importation.
This forex could be channelled to other productive sectors of the economy.
The adoption of the Pfumvudza concept also addresses other production related issues.
As the concept applies the conservation agriculture principle, it is one way of reducing soil loss (soil erosion) in arable areas. It also assists farmers to increase productivity, thus getting higher yields from small areas.
The Pfumvudza programme targets particularly small-holder farmers who are most vulnerable to the calamities and vagaries of climate change.
About 1,8 million beneficiaries of the popular Climate Proofed Presidential Inputs Support Scheme are each expected to establish three Pfumvudza plots over this 2020/21 agricultural season.
It is hoped that the programme will address the problems of low levels of productivity and production, making the country’s farmers and households more resilient to climate shocks and ultimately ensuring food security in Zimbabwe.
The scheme also offers real potential for commercialisation by encouraging smallholder farmers to produce surplus food to earn a regular income.
By using this concept, a farmer can also irrigate crops using a bucket and get a bumper harvest as opposed to planting maize on a large area without adequate resources and end up harvesting low yields per hectare.
The Pfumvudza concept promotes conservation farming techniques and involves use of small plots on smallholder farms and applying the correct agronomic practices for higher returns.
What makes Pfumvudza unique is the size of the plot used.
At just 16m×39m, the plot is small enough to easily prepare, small enough to manage with mulch, small enough to weed, and small enough to water by hand using harvested rain water in the event of a mid-season dry spell.
The farming concept is also being done successfully in Europe where most farms are less than 10 hectares. In China most peasant farmers own less than a hectare each. In Israel, farmers have to clear sand dunes to create space to grow crops, yet these farmers are major exporters of various agricultural products.
Sometimes the size of the land does not matter.
What matters is how you work on the piece of land. Most farmers are sitting on paradise, yet they do not realise it.
Farmers should understand that even small pieces of land, if well managed, can contribute to the transformation of the agriculture sector.
Through the Pfumvudza and Command Agriculture programmes, the country will soon wave goodbye to food imports, especially as normal to above normal rains are expected this season.
