Story by Tafara Chikumira
A Nyabira farmer has put 60 hectares under winter wheat through an Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) contract agreement, contributing to Zimbabwe’s drive for food security and industrialisation.
Sixty-six-year-old farmer and liberation war veteran Cde Endy Mhlanga says Government-supported agricultural programmes have enabled him to expand production while adopting best agronomic practices to maximise yields.
“Our President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa has made a clarion call that we should be the drivers of the economy as we seek to attain Vision 2030. Platforms have been created for us to utilise so that we become economically empowered,” he said.
“We are working under the contract agreement provided through ARDA, and everything is moving in the right direction. We seek to ensure that our country becomes food self-sufficient as we fulfil the dictates of the National Development Strategy Two.”
Cde Mhlanga urged Zimbabweans to emulate the First Family’s agricultural successes at Precabe Farm in Kwekwe in support of the national development agenda.
“We are a resilient nation being led by a pragmatic leader who wants to see results. We need to work hard and make Zimbabwe great. He has given us enough latitude to perform, and all that is needed is for us to remain focused,” he said.
Zimbabwe has already surpassed its winter wheat planting target of 125 000 hectares, with production from farmers such as Cde Mhlanga expected to contribute towards significantly increasing the country’s annual wheat output.
