By Titos Makondo
Mhlaguleni, Chiredzi South based community builder and game changer, Hebert Phikela [42], has urged Lowveld subsistence farmers to switch to agribusiness to mitigate food insecurity and beat poverty.
Speaking about Chiredzi South in particular, Phikela, a proudly chilli agriculturalist has equated Chiredzi South to a biblical city of Canaan, where prosperity follows the grit-driven hard working farmers.
“Our ancestral land is ‘creamy’, no bones about that. It’s labeled by a fertile soil dubbed “Chitakataka”, which does not require fertilisers – suitable for crop and animal husbandry.
Why choosing to be “Lazurus” of the present age yet we are sitting right on top of coffers?
“But l think we have become a pocket of poverty denizens because we don’t know because we don’t want to know. I think it’s high time we consider farming as a business less we will hunger and suffer until Jesus comes”, said Phikela who wears many hats.
Mr Phikela indicated that the climate has changed from bad to worse, adding rainfall is unguaranteed.
“l advise every farmer out there to buy a solar pump and intensively grow commercial crops in an undersized manageable portion”.
“It is far much better cultivating a manageable piece effectively and efficiently than wizarding in a vast area bagging dust as a fruition. As a contracted chilli farmer, l grow chilli in my garden watering with a solar water pump. l may not attain a bumper harvest but an excellent harvest is a must”.
He said many contracted chilli farmers are being paid in monthly basis as civil servants and colorful their lives becomes. “The sooner we change the way of doing things the better”, he said encouraging farmers to dive into chilli farming and other quick moneymaking agric-projects.
In a related subject, a young man from Chigwedziva community who asked to remain anonymous has taken to social media warning farmers from selling their produce to the so called “Korokozas”.
“The “Korokozas” are hooligans reaping from where they didn’t sow.
Farming is no easy work don’t sell your produce for a plastic money. Report Korokozas, please! Kambe na nwinavo mi hahanyanya a miku tivi GMB ke?”, outlined anonymous, while advising farmers to keep enough food in their granaries because drought is skeptical.
