Trymore Tagwirei
Top inputs and seeds manufacturer Valley Seeds is promoting drought-tolerant seed varieties for the climate-prone Chivi to assist the district reduce food insecurity, it has been learnt.
This came out at a field tour event in Ward 5, Chivi North, where Valley Seeds donated inputs to 335 Pfumvudza farmers in the district.
The event was held at Chivi North Member of Parliament (MP) Godfrey Mukungunugwa’s homestead.
A 0.3-hectare maize crop was used as a farmer field school and a village business unit where 30 farmers were trained on innovative farming practices with inputs supplied by Valley seeds.
Valley Seeds director of commercial business, Tichaona Maponga said the company was working to ensure that only a drought-tolerant seed varieties reached Chivi which is one of the most climate-vulnerable districts.
“Our seeds varieties here including the Pan 54 are very tolerant to droughts and therefore most suitable for Chivi and other semi-dry places in the country. We want to assist in efforts to boost agricultural production and reduce hunger in the district by ensuring that only seeds adapted to the local climate are used by local farmers,” said Maponga.
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He said the use of specially-adapted seeds complemented adaptive farming practices like pfumvudza/intwasa that were being practiced by many households.
Host farmer Thembinkosi Mukungunugwa (pictured) said since she adopted fumvudza in 2018, she had seen improved yields at a time when many villagers were failing.
“I adopted this sustainable method of farming on the 0.3-hectare piece of land, and it is paying off quite well. I have now managed to drill a borehole, install water storage tanks and build the drip system irrigation,” said Mukunngunugwa.
Pfumvudza is a form of dry planting which involves digging holes over uncultivated land to plant seeds. The government has extensively promoted this farming practice over the past few years, pointing out that it helps preserve soil moisture particularly in semi-arid districts.
Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary, Admore Pazvakavabwa called for greater adoption of adaptive farming techniques to cope with climate change.
“We targeted 16 345 pfumvudza plots for Chivi district, and I am pleased that we managed to achieve 101%. The district has 587 crop farmer field schools, 201 of them being focused on livestock,” said Pazvakavambwe.
He said Masvingo province had 27 120 hectares of land under the pfumvudza, with Chivi district having 37 business units.
The event was also attended by Valley Seeds Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Themba Nkatazo, Acting Chief Director in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) Leonard Munamati, MPs, local councilors, traditional leaders and agricultural extension officers.
Climate change significantly impacts Chivi, as evidenced by the increased frequency of droughts that lead to reduced agricultural productivity and food insecurity. Some studies have suggested that 44 percent of Zimbabweans living in South Africa migrated because of droughts especially in Chivi, Mwenezi, Beitbridge and Gwanda districts.
