Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development
permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri yesterday urged farmers to maintain
the position of the plots as permanent so that they get the incremental
benefits of conservation agriculture or Pfumvudza/Intwasa.
“By now at least three plots must be ready for planting for
the household and beneficiary,” said Prof Jiri.
He encouraged all farmers to prepare at least three plots
if they were to receive inputs.
For household food security, the emphasis on permanent
plots for Pfumvudza/Intwasa should be done on time with holes covered with
mulch for effective moisture conservation, he explained.
“We need to climate-proof our agriculture practices at
household level to ensure food security everywhere and every day. With renewed
trust in Pfumvudza/Intwasa and irrigation development we should able to obtain
cereal grain for the national food security.
“We must climate-proof our crop and livestock production
through Pfumvudza/Intwasa and irrigation development meant for cereal
production as well as pasture production for livestock. This must remain our
best foot forward as we transform Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector,” he
explained.
Meanwhile, a video on X (formerly twitter) has presented
Agritex acting director Mr Leonard Munamati urging farmers to continue with
their farming activities in anticipation of the rains in the next few days.
“The planting season is upon us. The Meteorological
Services Department (MSD) has advised that most parts of the country will
receive rainfall amounts that are enough for planting,” said Mr Munamati.
He also encouraged farmers with irrigation systems to
increase their hectarage.
“We are appealing to all farmers with irrigation to put
every square inch of their irrigable land to maize. We now emphasise early
maturing varieties to allow smooth transitioning into winter wheat production
in 2024,” he explained.
He added that farmers without irrigation systems and had
already completed potholing could start planting using water from rivers or
wells and those with no water sources near them could dry plant.
“Those in regions 1 and 2, which receive more rainfall must
also plant early maturing maize varieties as time is already gone. Those in
regions 4 and 5 must grow traditional grains such as sorghum, finger millet and
millet to ensure food security,” said Mr Munamati.
He also advised farmers to grow other seed varieties like
groundnuts and cowpeas to promote diversity and ensure enough and nutritious
food in view of the current climate change challenges. Herald
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