WHEN Mr Ishmael Dirahu (24) left his motor mechanic job in Cape Town, South Africa to venture into fish farming back home in Umguza District in Matabeleland North, many thought he would live to regret the decision.
Today, he is living a life he hitherto thought, only
existed in his dreams. He has scripted a success story through aquaculture
raking in between US$5 000 to US$6 000 in profits every month.
Mr Dirahu represents a new crop of young farmers that are
changing the face of Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector. At his youthful age, he
has broken stereotypes that farming is for the older generation.
This growing interest in farming by young people is
reshaping and transforming the agricultural sector.
Working in partnership with his United Kingdom-based
father, Mr Herbert Dirahu, the young farmer has managed to transform a
24-hectare family plot at Woolandale Farm in Umguza District into a thriving
integrated fish and vegetable farming project within a period of 14 months.
The farm is located along the Bulawayo-Plumtree Road, about
22km out of Bulawayo.
A holder of a national diploma in motor mechanics from
Bulawayo Polytechnic, Mr Dirahu said when he started the fish farming project
in June last year during the Covid-19 lockdown, it was an experiment.
Since then, he has never looked back and believes the sky
is the limit.
“When I decided to leave a well-paying job in Cape Town to
try my hand at farming, my friends including some family members thought it was
a bad idea. I obeyed my instincts and returned home and today I have no regrets
whatsoever,” he said with a smile.
“I engaged my father and he offered to assist with capital
and we managed to construct five earth ponds with a total capacity to hold 50
000 litres of water. The ponds also serve as a vital water source for the
horticulture project.”
Currently, there are 45 000 tilapia bream fingerlings at
the ponds, which are set to mature in the next three months.
Through his farming project, Mr Dirahu is contributing to
the country’s economic growth. Zimbabwe recognises aquaculture as a form of
livestock production with potential to contribute significantly to sustainable
livelihoods, food security, and economic development, through value addition
and export of processed fish product.
Mr Dirahu employs 10 workers and hopes to generate more
employment for the local community. Using the profits, he has managed to expand
the business by adding three more nursing ponds from where he wants to breed
fish.
“We source our fingerlings from Kariba, but our plan is to
start a hatchery enterprise and already we have three nursery ponds under
construction,” he said.
“I realised that aquaculture carries prospects of
generating more employment and contributing to the country’s economic growth,
which is why we want to transform the farm into a centre for quality
fingerlings. Our target is to increase fish production and self-sufficiency
through sustainable intensification of the existing aquaculture enterprise.”
Mr Dirahu said he used two solar powered boreholes to pump
water into the ponds as well as watering vegetables planted on five hectares.
He said most of his customers for fish are neighbours and
motorists using the Bulawayo-Plumtree highway. Supermarkets in Bulawayo are his
major market for vegetables.
“It takes six months for the fish to mature. Each pond
accommodates about 10 000 fingerlings and when we sell the fish, we make a
profit of between US$5 000 and US$6 000 per month. My advice to those
interested in fish farming is that you start small, but eventually you get
there,” said Mr Dirahu.
“In fact, there is good money in fish farming. I get
inspiration from other farmers and also access some of the technical knowledge
through researching on the internet. We supply supermarkets in Bulawayo with
vegetables and through this thriving business, we are taking care of about 20
family members.”
Despite these hurdles, Mr Dirahu believes they are making
progress and wants to participate in the Command Fisheries and
Pfumvudza/Intwasa programmes. He urged youths to venture into full-time farming
in their numbers and take a lead. Chronicle
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