Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
THE Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Dr Joseph Made, implored Manicaland farmers to quickly adopt cheap irrigation technologies to boost production.

Agriculture Reporter
BUHERA district and the low lying Chisumbanje area last week finally received heavy rains that instantly transformed the agricultural complexion in the respective drought stricken zones with communal farmers racing against time to plant the January late crop.

Agriculture Reporter
CEREAL farmers in Manicaland are taking advantage of the current wet spell to scale up planting operations while tobacco farmers have been urged to wind up their planting operations and focus on tendering, reaping and curing.

Senior Agriculture Reporter
MANICALAND is lagging behind its planting schedule, with a paltry 60 000 out of the projected 300 000 hectares of maize having been planted since the inception of the 2012/13 summer cropping season.

Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
THERE is panic among communal and old resettled farmers that are congested in drier regions of the province, and who are traditionally credited for producing most of Manicaland's maize as it emerged that the farming areas were yet to receive rains three weeks into the 2012-13 cropping season.

Stephen Ephraem
THERE is a low uptake of cotton inputs in the Lowveld as the 2012-13 season inputs disbursement has begun in the Lowveld. The uptake is low as compared to the previous season.

Farming Reporter
POCKETS of Manicaland that traditionally receive early rains and occasionally record bumper harvests have started receiving precipitation, but agriculture experts urged farmers in these areas to be cautious and start planting when their areas have received 25 to 30mm of rainwater.
Manicaland Agritex officer, Mr Godfrey Mamhare, on Wednesday, said there had not been uniformity in the rainfall patterns throughout the province.
Mr Mamhare said only tobacco farmers should continue planting their early crop. He said grain farmers must intensify land preparations and should only start planting when the adequate soil moisture has been sustained.
"The rains have not fully covered the whole of Manicaland, and the situation is promising in those areas that are perennially known for receiving normal to above normal rains. The drier parts of the province, which comprise the bulk of our communal areas has not received any rains to date, and no meaningful progress has been made in so far as land preparations is concerned," Mr Mamhare.
In the past week, areas like Odzi, Honde Valley, Nyazura, Birchenough Bridge, Headlands, Mayo, Chiendambuya,  Osborne, Honde Valley,  Mutasa, Makoni, and parts of Chipinge,  Nyanga, Chimanimani districts, which are traditionally the province's food baskets have received light to medium showers and farmers have been busy in their fields.
However, contrastingly those areas lying in the rain shadow like Buhera, Lowveld, Marange, and communal parts of Nzvimbe part of Makoni, drier parts of Nyanga and Mutasa are lagging behind even in terms of land preparations since they are yet to receive some rains.
"We are not encouraging farmers to start planting when they do not have irrigation facilities because our districts have received some light showers and soil moisture is insufficient for planting of grain crops.
“Only tobacco farmers must continue planting while other crop farmers take advantage on these initial rains to intensify land preparations," said Mr Mamhare.
Mr Mamhare urged farmers to buy inputs and avoid being caught napping.
Seed, fertiliser and agro-chemicals are awash at the farmers' doorsteps in a paradigm shift earmarked to ensure accessibility to critical commodities. However, the farmers' hopes were being dashed by high costs involved.
The Ammonium Nitrate, Compound D, C, lime, gypsum and a variety of grain seed packs, coupled with weed and pest control chemicals were flooded in both rural and urban shops.
However, the prices were too exorbitant.
A 50kg bag of Ammonium Nitrate, which is usually on high demand, was costing between $40 and $45, while Compound D was ranging between $39 and $42.
A 10kg packet of seed maize costs $25, 25kgs $60, 50kg costs $120kgs.
A 25kg will cover one hectare, a move, which is likely to affect the maize hectarage.
Mr Mamhare said those farmers in known drier areas, who also lack tillage muscle, must take up conservation farming, which is easily affordable.
Conservation farming takes advantage of natural ecological processes to conserve moisture, enhance soil fertility, and improve soil structure, and to reduce soil erosion and the presence of diseases and pests.
"We are expecting a fair coverage of the rains as the week progresses and farmers throughout the province should continue with their land preparations.
“We are also urging the bulky of our poor communal farmers to take up conservation farming, so that when the rains eventually come, they won't be caught napping."
Conservation farming involves very little soil disturbance, and involves low labour input and its effective utilisation of natural ecological processes. Communal farmers do not till all available arable land, but instead prepare land by opening planting basins as holes.
Then, farmers follow technical guidance regarding planting standards -such as seeds per station and spacing - that are appropriate to the soil and other natural factors in their particular area. They also keep these permanent planting basins weed-free to optimise soil use.
Several NGOs in the province were encouraging communal farmers to embrace this type of farming.
Mr Mamhare said Manicaland was this season targeting about 15 000 of tobacco and 300 000ha of maize.

Ngoni Dapira
IN the wake of the current unreliable weather patterns sweeping across the country due to the climate change cataclysm, the issue of food security becomes a matter of concern.
The concern is more far-reaching for the poor rural communities in the country's dry land areas, especially in Matebeleland South, Matebeleland North, Bulawayo, Midlands, Masvingo and some parts of Manicaland that have been the worst hit by poor rains in the past farming seasons.
Most people in the rural areas survive on subsistence farming, but of late have been receiving poor harvests barely enough for their consumption as family units.
The country requires about 2, 2 million metric tonnes of grain annually, but projections currently predicted that only 900 000 tonnes of maize might be harvested this year.
The senior laboratory technician at Africa University, Mrs Margret Tagwira, who has been doing research on food security crops for Africa, however, said although maize was the staple crop in Zimbabwe, time had come for the country to invest in other previously ignored grain crops, especially the drought weary rural subsistence farmers.
In December through Mrs Tagwira's research on food security crops, Africa University will start training programmes in the rural communities, educating farmers about drought tolerant food security grain crops as alternatives to counter the poor rains situation in the country.
Mrs Tagwira said since 70 percent of Africa's population live in the rural areas, it is critical that more resources be channeled towards improving small-scale and subsistence farming activities.
One of the key crops she will be training farmers in is Grain Amaranth, a drought resistant, pseudo cereal crop that she said had value additional potential as an instant porridge, maize-meal, flour, Amaranth pop and can even be used in the brewery industry as a fermented drink rich in important nutrients.
Research on small grain crops has also proven that previously ignored food crops such as sorghum, rapoko and millet are currently the best options to mitigate the effects of recurrent droughts, affecting Zimbabwe and Africa at large.
Mrs Tagwira's research shows that Grain Amaranth can be added to these small grains and has an added advantage of its high nutritional content.
"Grain Amaranth, which is similar to wild Amaranth or pig weed (mbowa,mowa), is not known by most farmers, but this drought tolerant crop has the potential to overturn Africa's woes of increased hunger and malnutrition-related illnesses," she said.
Africa University exhibited the Grain Amaranth project and simplified Oyster mushroom production project at the Science, Engineering and Technology week held early this month.
These projects are part of Mrs Tagwira's food security research, targeting the rural communities. In her simplified Oyster mushroom production project she showed a low cost clean room which will substitute the expensive Laminar flow cabinet which is usually used for the mushroom spawn production.
This fabricated wooden clean room simplifies and revolutionises the mushroom spawn production to not only be affordable, but administrable in the rural areas where there is no electricity.
As an alternative of the expensive petri-dishes used to develop the mushroom culture, she said people can use the used-up half Chateu (wine) bottles.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara, while touring the Africa University stand applauded the idea of making sciences accessible to the rural population and encouraging the farming of drought tolerant value additional crops in the rural areas.
He said Government should take up such projects seriously, especially in the wake of the climate change catastrophe.
At the official opening of the SET week, the Minister of Science and Technology Development, Mr Henry Dzinotyiwei, said our current world now depends on sciences, which is why Government is now supporting local scientists and giving them such platforms to showcase their research.
The Prime Minister, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, also toured the exhibitions at the SET week and was very impressed by the Grain Amaranth project especially its value additional component.
Mrs Tagwira said apart from the value additional element, the nutritional value of Grain Amaranth is its strength, especially to tackle Africa's malnutrition woes in displaced populations, war torn and drought weary countries.
"Grain Amaranth contains 16 to 18 percent protein, compared to less than 10 percent in wheat and maize. Its proteins comprise an excellent balance of essential amino acids that the human body cannot manufacture such as lysine and methionine, which are deficient in maize and other cereals.
"Grain amaranth also has early maturing varieties with some varieties maturing from as early as 45 - 70 days.
"The harvested grain is not attacked by weevils and can be kept for more than five years without any special chemical protection unlike most cereal crops.
"It also has no gluten making it suitable for those who are gluten intolerant," she said.
Africa University is also conducting research on cassava as another crop that can be adopted in Sub-Saharan Africa considering its drought resistant potency and its' resistance to pests and diseases.
The cassava project researcher, a laboratory technician, Mr JeftaTabarira, said cassava is a root crop that grows well in high temperatures. He said if drought hits cassava does not die but 'shuts down' until the rains come again.
"Cassava is popular in Nigeria and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This can be used as a fallback crop for most of the Sub-Saharan countries in the wake of the continuing climate change problems," said Mr Tabarira.
Mrs Tagwira said food security was very important for national security.
"It is said, a hungry nation is an impoverished nation. As academia we must research on how to prevent our continent from starving and ensure food security as climate change continues to affect weather patterns."
The vice-chancellor of Africa University, Prof Fanuel Tagwira, said as an institution of higher learning, the university's service culture was premised on its three-fold mandate which is teaching and learning, research and community development.
"As academics we should seen on the forefront of research to develop our continent and improve the lives of our populace.
"Millennium Development Goal 8 seeks to address the issue malnutrition and hunger in Africa and I am glad that as Africa University we are playing our role to come up with solutions to meet the 2015 MDG's target," said Prof Tagwira.

Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
RETIRED Major Ernest Jinjika, the owner of Lion Head Farm, located eight kilometers outside Rusape along Inyati Mine Road is one example of a successful progressive farmer in Makoni District.
His success story is an eye-opener to all land reform beneficiaries that with a bit of perseverance, hard working, intelligent farm planning and management , ably supported by training and study tours, farming can be a lucrative means of livelihood.
Hailing from Bikita, where a combination of small farms and poor yields was a formula for poverty, he dreamt of becoming a successful soldier.  However, it turned out a great surprise that his career was destined to be elsewhere and his ability to approach farming  as a business has catapulted him to his current status of a successful farmer.
Rtd Maj Jinjika is a rare breed of farmers - conscientious, self-reliant and willing to take risks.
The Manica Post this week drove to his farm, where he has just installed a state-of-the-art centre pivot irrigation tower to establish what drives him to pursue this way of life.
He forked out $85 000 to acquire the 11.5m long irrigation tower and well as a 100KVA generator to power it. The main advantages of the centre pivot are that it offers accurate water distribution at low pressure and is also the cheapest way of irrigating on a large scale.
He has also replenished his fleet of tractors, barns, overhead irrigation and farm equipment - investments worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Rtd Maj Jinjika's agrarian imperative instills him to work incredibly hard, to endure unusual pain and hardship and to take uncommon risks.
"My success story was not an overnight achievement. I was buoyed by a burning desire to defeat some of Zimbabwe's largest problems - including poverty and hunger - and also give a positive image to the land reform programme. I started small, I worked from the ground up, and starting with a strong foundation to anchor what has become glittering farming business today," explained Rtd Maj Jinjika.
The pint-sized farmer has no regrets.
"I have achieved in seven years that I have been here, what I failed to achieve in more than 30 years as a soldier and a transport operator. I may not have achieved it in the next 20 or 30 years if I had not taken up farming. This is despite that fact that when I came here there was nothing in terms of farming equipments and implements. We relied solely on DDF and Arda tillage equipment," recalled Rtd Mjr Jinjika.
"Tobacco farming has enabled me to acquire the machinery I need. There are some with farms that had almost everything, but nothing is coming out of them. If I had remained in the transport business, then there was no way I was going to be what I am now. I was drowned already because all our operations had grinded to a halt during the hyperinflationary period," he said.
When he moved onto the farm in 2005 ,the initial days were long and tired. Rtd Maj Jinjika depended on the rains as the portable irrigation facility at his disposal.The yields remained small per hectare. He started interacting with other farmers, attending farming seminars where he gained more knowledge of farming and modern technology.
His big chance came late 2010 when he visited Mutwiwa Farm in Headlands and was introduced to the modern irrigation facility - the centre pivot and started making savings towards its acquisition.
"There was no irrigation; all our operations were purely dryland. I was challenged that if I wanted to grow as an agriculturalist, I had to invest in irrigation to improve the yields. The advantages of centre pivot irrigation are numerous. Given the precise application of water, low maintenance and labour costs, centre pivot irrigation has proved financially viable for me. It does not require any additional labour to operate and can easily be automated, it is well suited for small and large scale irrigation projects. As a result, I have increased my irrigated crop to 30ha this season and we are expecting our first reap mid December. We had 10ha of irrigated crop last year, but it was not as healthy as this year's. We have a far healthier and high quality crop this season and expecting about 4 500kg per ha," said Rtd Maj Jinjika.
 "When you are using a centre pivot, the yield cannot be compared to that of overhead irrigation. Look at the crop, the quality and weight is there. Water distribution is uniform and it reduces labour. Where we would need 40 people to plant 10ha in four days, this year we employed 28. We are required to irrigate the required millimeters of water before and after planting without hassles of the past. The survival rate is 99 percent and growth is uniform. We also apply herbicides using this irrigation system. The old system was labourious," said Rtd Maj Jinjika, adding that technology triggers change.
"I felt challenged when I heard about the centre pivot technology. I knew that it will improve productivity and our lives. It has brought dramatic results. Earlier on a lot of water and fertiliser were wasted as they did not have a fixed limit for each crop. The excess fertiliser was bad for the crop and degraded the soil as well. With fertigation, the required quantity of fertiliser could be mixed with water and supplied uniformly," he boasted.
Rtd Maj Jinjika first installed overhead irrigation facility at the farm in 2008 after accessing $Z3m dollars from CBZ.
"I managed to put a line of irrigation from the water source Chimbi River for about a kilometre to the edge of the field. It took me to 20ha of irrigated tobacco under contract to GDI (Gold Driven Investment)."
Rtd Maj Jinjika remains optimistic that the future is bright for him and is now focused on horticulture.
"I also want to focus on horticulture. I hope I will succeed," he said.
He hopes to triple the new technology to scale up horticultural productivity.
"We are planning for an extension of the center pivot to cover the large part of the arable area.  We are currently using two centres irrigating a circle radius of 11.5metres. We are also taking up potato and flower farming.
“We will be adding additional equipment and machinery so that we are highly mechanized. We have already started building greenhouses for rose farming," said Rtd Maj Jinjika, whose first tobacco harvest is expected in mid-December.
 He was grateful to CBZ for bankrolling his operations.
Rtd Maj Jinjika also boasts of 80 cattle, 110 goats and five sheep.
His Lion's Head Farm has 210ha, of which 150 is arable.
He has planted five hectares of gum trees and as well as maintaining an existing 10ha plantation.
He also extends tillage services to the surrounding communities in exchange for firewood for tobacco curing.
About 60 percent of his barns use coal.
He employs 40 permanent workers and 20 casuals.

Farming Reporter
ANIMAL health experts are calling on cattle farmers to speed up vaccination of their livestock against anthrax and blackleg diseases before the start of the rainy season whose inception is often blamed for accelerating the spread of the virus and spores that cause the deadly diseases.
Farmers must also start dipping their cattle once every week to guard against major water borne diseases like red-water, heart-water and anaplamosis, whose outbreak are high during the same period since the conditions encourage multiplication of ticks. Farmers were dipping cattle once fortnightly.
In an interview on Wednesday, provincial veterinary epidemiologist, Dr Kurai Pride Kapondo, said while a recent anthrax scare was now under control, farmers in the affected areas must continue vaccinating their cattle against blackleg.
Blackleg, a soilborne pathogen, is usually ingested by cattle as they graze on shorter forage.  While blackleg is an infectious disease, it's not a contagious disease and cattle that become infected won't directly transmit the disease to other cattle.
The spores that cause the disease enter the bloodstream and are deposited in muscle tissue throughout the animal's body. Spores lie dormant in the muscle tissue until stimulated to cause disease. It's only activated in a low oxygen environment such as damaged or bruised tissue.
Muscle tissue that has been damaged will have a compromised blood flow, so oxygen will not be as readily delivered to the affected tissue area. Therefore, any activity that causes bruising will promote the disease. Once this stimulating event occurs (transporting, handling, injection sites, rough or rigorous pasture activity), the spores germinate and multiply into the disease-causing bacteria.
Dr Kapondo said anthrax cases were recorded in Buhera, Mutare, Mutasa and Chipinge districts, where hundreds of animals mostly in the communal areas died and several people were infected after consuming infected carcasses.
Dr Kapondo insisted that though no reports were received for the past weeks, the risk of hemorrhagic infection may be greater with drought covering much of the province and famers must be pro-active and avoid being caught napping.
He maintained that the veterinary department was suffering from perennial shortage of vaccines and farmers were being encouraged to purchase their own vaccines.
"There were no reports this week and farmers are being urged to continue vaccinating their animals.  The disease can die down by itself, but farmers must be proactive.
“The situation is generally under control and we would also want to advise farmers to take precautionary measures and vaccinate their cattle against blackleg as well as dip them once very week to protect them against major water borne diseases like red-water, heart-water and anaplamosis, whose outbreak are high during the same period since the conditions will be encourage multiplication of ticks," said Dr Kapondo.
Dr Kapondo maintained that movement of cattle from these affected districts has been suspended with immediate effect, and those caught moving animals from these affected areas will be penalised because the spread of the disease is partially blamed on illegal animal movements.
Anthrax outbreaks happen occasionally in livestock herds and wild animals in Zimbabwe, usually in the Gonarezhou area. Animals typically contract the disease by ingesting or inhaling spores that can survive in soil for decades. Once infected, livestock can die within hours.
Anthrax bacteria react to drought and other harsh conditions by producing more spores, and experts said conditions are ripe for disease this year. A drought stretches throughout the entirety of Manicaland.
Natural anthrax is endemic in Zimbabwe where its bacillus spores can live for decades in dry soil and are ingested by animals ruminating for remnants of vegetation in the driest months of September and October.
Humans usually get anthrax through direct contact with infected livestock, often when spores get into a cut on the skin or eating infected carcasses. Without treatment, anthrax can be fatal, but early treatment with antibiotics is very effective.
Though there were no immediate reports of human deaths in the outbreak, health authorities in Manicaland have recorded several hospitalized cases following the consumption of infected carcasses.

Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Economic Empowerment Council president, Themba Mliswa, has called upon the Government to speedily resolve the rift between cotton growers and cotton buyers in the country.