Story by Courage Bushe
AS the government works to restore Zimbabwe’s status as the breadbasket of Africa, Mberengwa miner-turned-farmer Gadzirai Mudzingwa is leading by example.
Shifting from mining to farming, Mudzingwa has established a large-scale agricultural enterprise encompassing cattle breeding, poultry, and crop production.
His success stands as a testament to the achievements of the Government’s land reform programme and serves as an inspiration to other miners in the province, highlighting agriculture as a viable and profitable business opportunity.
“After getting the land from the Government, brick by brick, I started by drilling boreholes for the goat project, and now we are here. We started the chicken project two years ago, and we have been successful. In the field, we are looking at not less than eight tonnes per hectare of maize,” said Mudzingwa.
Local agricultural officials commended Mudzingwa for embracing precision farming methods, noting that such approaches are key to strengthening food security in the district.
“We know Mberengwa is a mining district, but remember, agriculture is one of the country’s major pillars of the economy. We should also embrace commercial farming in Mberengwa, and Mr Mudzingwa is a good example of how agriculture can turn our lives around for the better outside mining,” Mberengwa Ward 2 Agritex Officer, Mr Darlington Moyo said.
Traditional leadership also hailed the initiative as a practical demonstration of national development ideals.
“The majority of people here resort to gold panning in their fervent desire to have a share of the area’s riches; hence, it is common to come across panners in their ethereal caricatures, their tattered clothes hued by the red soil. However, what has happened here testifies to the government’s vision of “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo,” Chief Mataruse said.
Beyond boosting food production, Mudzingwa’s agricultural ventures have created employment opportunities for the local community and contributed to the province’s gross domestic product, reinforcing agriculture’s role in inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
