Story by Mhlomuli Ncube
ZIMBABWE’s agricultural sector is not only recording gains, but also empowering many stakeholders within the production value chain.
The Second Republic has been clear that agriculture is a business and this is the situation at farms that include Marseland, just outside Bulawayo.
As farmers till the land, the ultimate aim is to reap rewards and earn sustainable livelihoods.
“As we work on these fields, we are also earning money which helps us to look after our families and make us financially sound,” a farmer said.
“We might not have necessarily been employed on farms, but come to buy produce which they then go to sell somewhere else and in the process earn a living,” another farmer stated.
The story of modern-day farming is not envisaged to simply end on the fields but to go beyond and give farmers day to day incomes.
The value chain sees the different products being harvested from the fields and transported to different markets where they are sold.
Along the way everyone is a winner.
“We are not only doing agriculture for our own survival, it is now a business and we are not just making revenues but also employing others,” Marseland Farm Manager, Mr Lucky Dube said.
“I buy products which I ship to other districts. We have created a fresh produce line that caters to all our clients across Zimbabwe,” a fresh produce merchant, Mr Hloniphani Gumpo noted.
The priority to government is that agriculture must change lives not only socially, but also economically.
The value chains involving production, marketing and even exports are empowering local communities in a very big way.
