Fungai Lupande Mashonaland Central Bureau
The Agriculture Research Council of Zimbabwe (ARCZ) and the African Centre for Fertiliser Development (ACFD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Frontline Institute for cooperation in areas of food production and value addition, water purification and water harvesting technologies.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 119 students at Frontline Institute recently, ARCZ chief executive and AFCD managing director Dr Isaiah Mharapara said it was important to train students who become employers.

“Our organisation is committed to working with this institute in various training programmes,” he said. “This is because their training programmes are inclusive and we want to cooperate on advocacy because it is communities who can identify their constraints and demand service.

“We want to train communities on grey water purification and water harvesting technologies, as water will soon become a scarce commodity. Communities need to learn how to use it efficiently.

“We also want to train communities on tree planting, production of organic manure, food production experiments and researches on food security. Other fields will open up as we work together.

“We have carried out a baseline survey in this community with the objective of promoting smart agriculture in the fight against the effects of climate change and global warming.”

Hereford village head Mr John Nhau said communities in Shamva district had been transformed and equipped with requisite information on how to mitigate climate change effects through students at the Development Aid for People to People’s Frontline Institute.

Mr Nhau said massive deforestation was happening in Shamva due to tobacco farming, but the communities were now planting trees, thanks to the awareness created by the Frontline Institute.

“Some villages were practising open defecation, but students from Frontline Institute taught us how to build latrines,” he said. “We also had communities without boreholes, but through students at this centre we are now drinking clean water.

“We were struggling with massive deforestation due to tobacco farming, but through these students we learnt the importance to planting trees to mitigate the effects of climate change. We are now practising organic gardening and conservation farming. We have been working with this school for 19 years now.”

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey