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Elita chikwati Senior Agriculture Reporter

When Government embarked on the Land Reform Programme, they were too young to benefit. Now 18 years on, Selous farmers Jerry Masoka (34) and 32-year-old Shingi Kubare’s zeal to farm has seen them embark on horticulture production on a rented piece of land in Selous.

Instead of mourning the scarcity of the land, the pair is making use of available resources to earn a living and maximise on their income.

Masoka said he was eager to benefit from the Government programme of downsizing farms and issuing land to those who were willing to farm.

He and his partner are experienced agriculture experts who felt an urge in putting their knowledge to practice by renting a farm in Selous.

“We had the zeal to farm and realised that even if we apply for land it was going to take us some time. We decide to start producing while we wait for land allocation from Government,” he said.

The two have majored in horticulture at Cheerland Farm in Selous and have started contributing towards ensuing national food and nutrition security.

“We chose horticulture because we do not have a large piece of land. We have to make maximum use of the small piece we have and horticulture is the best enterprise at the moment.

“We did not have much capital and had to make use of the little resources we had and so we chose horticulture. In horticulture one can start harvesting within a short period. So you start to get money within a short space of time rather than in other projects such as citrus production,” Mr Masoka said.

The pair is producing vegetables such as kale, cabbage, chomoulier, onions, carrots, beetroot, spinach, lettuce and fine beans, among other vegetable crops, supplying nearby towns such as Chegutu, Kadoma and Harare, among others.

Within a short period at the farm the youths are already employers. They employ 29 workers and 12 of them are permanent while the rest are casual workers.

“We did not have enough money to buy a farm and thought of venturing into partnerships with those who had the land.

“We are into partnership with a farmer who is producing moringa where we assist with technical expertise. We identified more arable land on the farm and negotiated. But the soils are sandy and some people who have tried producing on this farm left because of the poor land,” said Mr Kubare.

He said they have resorted to using animal manure to improve their soil fertility and structure.

“We also did not have enough capital and did not want to burden ourselves by applying for loans. We were also discouraged by the high interest rates on the bank loans and we decided to make use of our salaries.

“Vegetables take a short period before they go on the market and one is assured of cash every day. We have identified our markets and so far the future is promising,” he said.

The pair said they wanted to venture into organic farming as there was increasing demand for organic food worldwide.

“We want to establish export market and produce organic food for the export market. Now most people are health conscious and want organic food,” he said.

Besides employing people from the community, two farmers are also empowering fellow farmers by training them different skills in farming.

The farmers said although they were fully employed as civil servants they no longer spend their weekends or holidays braaing with friends as they have a farm to attend to.

“There are certain operations that need the farmer to be present. For instance you cannot have workers applying fertilisers or chemicals in your absence. They need strict supervision so that work can be done efficiently,” he said.

The pair said they were facing a challenge of security.

They have irrigation equipment which they said was under threat from vandalism.

“This area has been lying idle for so many years and now there is activity taking place, this has also attested thieves and we need security throughout the day and during the evening.

“We can also not make long term investment on this farm as is not ours. This is the other reason why we also ventured into horticulture. We cannot venture into citrus production as this is a long term project. If we had our own farm we were going to make long term investments and improve the infrastructure on the farm,” said Mr Masoka.

Mr Masoka advised his fellow youths not to always think of getting employed as they could become employers themselves through farming.

“In farming, I have realised that one get huge profits within a short period of time. Youths should contribute to the betterment of the economy and livelihoods. They should not shun farming as it is a viable industry that can empower many people,” he said.

“Do something that you love and in this you will be able to create your own employment and also employ others.”