Stories by Netho Francisco recently in Nyanga

YOUNG people in Nyanga have rubbished claims that local farmers cannot succeed in horticulture by exceptionally doing well in the sector producing crops such as potatoes and different fruits.
A group of five youngsters, beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme, are turning Nyanga into a hub for horticultural produce.
Operating on a 42-hectare farm called Charteland Orchards, the youths who are utilising more than 85 percent of the land eventually plan to use all the land.
One of the shareholders and farm manager Moses Kadzima said they have fully commercialised all their operations to boost capacity utilisation.
“Our farm is fully commercialised and we use modern farming methods and advanced equipment, a situation that adds value to our produce and increase output,” he said.
“We are operating on 23 hectares which is almost 85 percent of the fertile land we have and the rest is rocky which makes it difficult to farm,”
“We want to ensure that the empowerment policy succeeds as we benefited from it and also show that we are as good if not better than the former white farmers by doing more than they did.”
Kadzima said part of their success was attributable to the fact that they have managed to link with various local and foreign markets for their products.
“We are producing world class products and supply big companies such as FAVCO and Innscor. We are also supplying Mbare Musika with potatoes and fruits,”
“And some of our products are finding their way onto foreign markets such as Mozambique and flowers are being exported to Holland through our agents.”
Some of the fruits that are being produced at the farm include peaches, pears and plums.
Kadzima who says they generated more than US$50 000 in revenue last year said they have managed to employ at least 28 permanent workers and others on a contract basis.
“The empowerment policy has changed our lives and the community around us. To date, we have managed to boost our capacity utilisation by acquiring three tractors, potato diggers, 58 cattle, 43 sheep and 70 goats,” he said.
He said they have also managed to set up an irrigation scheme to enable production to be conducted year-round.
“We produce different crops throughout the year as a result of our irrigation system and this has helped us to have sustainable cash flow to run our operations,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Saunyama from Nyanga applauded youths in his area for promoting agriculture in the country through farming activities.
“I am vey glad that most youths in my area have managed to turn the farms into viable business entities,” he said.
He said farming has transformed the lives of many youths by creating jobs and eradicating poverty in the community.
“More than 2 000 jobs have been created so far through different farming projects and this will go a long way in developing the community and the country at large,” he said.
“It is very pleasing that most young people are now self-reliant compared to the previous era where they used to rely on small wages they were getting from white commercial farmers that was not enough to sustain their lives.”
Chief Saunyama said Nyanga has almost regained its status as a hub for horticulture products.
“Nyanga is now almost at 100 percent capacity utilisation in terms of horticulture production,” he said.
“It must also be noted that local farmers have managed to boost production of potatoes in the area as compared to white farmers who were only concentrating on forestry production.”
In 2011 Government launched a US$10 million Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund under CABS to assist financing of youth projects in the country through loans and so far at least US$5 million has been disbursed to different parts of the country.
The chief applauded the National Youth Fund for financing most projects in Nyanga, a move that has increased the participation of youths in empowerment programmes.
“At least 45 youths from my area managed to benefit from the National Youth Fund with more than US$200 000 having been disbursed to Nyanga,” he said.
“I am also happy that most of the beneficiaries of the fund are managing to pay back their loans which show profitability of their projects.”
Chief Saunyama said they have launched Nyanga Empowerment Trust aimed at facilitating and promoting youths to venture into more financially rewarding programmes.
“We have managed to get a land lease from Arda of about 50 hectares through our trust and we are going to allocate at least 40 youths to start potato production,” he said.
“We have also negotiated with a South African firm that has shown interest in entering into contract farming with our youths in peas production, a project that is expected to start next year January.”