Youth League comes to aid of horticultural projects 

Source: Youth League comes to aid of horticultural projects | The Herald

Zanu PF Youth League acting deputy secretary Cde Tendai Chirau hands over 2 000 cabbage seedlings to Zone 4 youth secretary Cde Takura Madziya (centre) while a league member Cde Samuel Siawrerere looks-on at the Hatcliffe fresh produce garden in Harare yesterday

Herald Reporter
THE Zanu PF Youth League is committed to transform communities across the country through the provision of necessary equipment for thriving horticultural projects after revamping a solar energy powered water pump at Hatcliffe fresh produce market gardening in Harare.

The youth league refurbished the water pumps, nine water taps and solar systems to ensure continuous power supply.

Speaking at the tour of the project yesterday Zanu PF acting Secretary for Youth Affairs, Cde Tendai Chirau said youths should play a pivotal role in transforming the gardens.

“We have revived the irrigation facilities here in Hatcliffe, Harare North Constituency with an aim to make sure that we assist in the issue of production”.

More than 65 families are surviving on the 3 hectares piece of land through engaging in a thriving horticulture fresh produce.

Currently, the project is relying on a 40m- deep  borehole as a source of water that was not enough to sustain the project.

“The youths and the women who are here are engaging in horticulture production, so they came to us saying that there is a problem they were facing in terms of the capacity of the water pump that irrigates here. So we engaged some young people who are technicians who came here and repaired the irrigation system and also enhanced it.

‘They brought some solar panels, they also brought in some plumbing equipment to make sure the project is viable gain.

“We are happy now that there is an improvement. As a long-term plan, we want to ensure that we drill another borehole close by the garden. The current borehole is quite far from the garden,” said Cde Chirau.

Hatcliffe fresh produce garden is one such project that the Youth League has adopted and secured the necessary requirements for a thriving horticultural project which has become a source of livelihoods for more than 65 families in Hatcliffe.

The Youth League also donated 2 000 cabbages seedlings to the youth in Harare North Constituency.

The project, Cde Chirau said will be replicated in all the districts across the country’s 10 provinces.

“We want to ensure that this project becomes a pilot project. We also want to ensure the horticulture projects cascaded to other provinces so as to increase production in line with President Mnangagwa’s clarion call to increase production and turn the country into an upper middle income economy.

“We need to start these horticultural projects, nutrition gardens across the provinces, even in the rural areas using smart energy for the betterment of the livelihoods of the people,”.

This, he said is in line with Vision 2030, where President Mnangagwa is calling for the need to increase production for the betterment of the people’s livelihoods.

“Everyone must play a role to compliment Government efforts. This is one of the ways of enhancing urban agriculture through the use of solar energy”.