Government capacitates Agritex officers

Source: Government capacitates Agritex officers | The Sunday Mail

Tendai Chara

The 5 000 motorcycles sourced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for use by Agritex officers will be disbursed on Tuesday, as preparations for the 2020-2021 cropping season gather momentum.

This was revealed by Dr John Bhasera, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement.

Dr Bhasera made the announcement during a Pfumvudza demonstration event that was held in Mazonde Village, Mhondoro, Thursday.

“Government is in the process of capacitating Agritex officers.  I am happy to announce that His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, sourced 5 000 motorcycles for use by Agritex officers. Gone are the days in which our officers will cover distances of up to 30 kilometres on foot,” Dr Bhasera said.

Government employs 4 600 agricultural extension workers.

The demonstration event was organised by the Zimbabwe Plant Breeders Association (ZPBA), which is an association that represents the interests of professionals that work in the plant-breeding and other plant-breeding related fields such as seed agronomists, seed inspectors and molecular biologists, among others.

Dr Bhasera also announced the commencement of the Blitz Soil Conditioning Programme, which is intended to promote the use of lime to “sweeten” acidic soils.

Pfumvudza is one of the concepts under the Agriculture Recovery Plan that is being spearheaded by Government to improve food production.

The concept is aimed at climate-proofing agriculture by adopting conservation farming techniques.

It also involves the use of small pieces of land and applying the correct agronomic practices for higher returns.

Pfumvudza also aims at growing yields at household level as this directly impacts on the national yield level.

The concept will be applied for maize, traditional grains and soyabeans.