By ZBC Reporter
THEe mapping of horticultural farming zones is now complete with the government set to roll out programmes meant to revive the sector.
Farmers in Hwedza are moving towards the production of garlic and turmeric, as they prepare to join the band of one million eight hundred thousand smallholder farmers who will be roped into horticultural farming under a government programme targeting to revive the sector.
Douglas Msipa, a garlic farming expert is leading the initiative in Hwedza.
“Garlic farming ine Mari. One square meter inopa murimi a minimum of US$10. So u see kuti this is a very good venture that lies ahead for farmers,” he said.
Ahead of the roll-out of the Horticulture Recovery Plan that seeks to revive and grow the sector into a multi-billion dollar industry within the next five years, there is significant headway in roping in smallholder farmers.
“We have completed the mapping process and as we speak AMA has also finalized the processes that will allow for the farmers to access markets. So we have made good progress to start preparing for the roll-out of the Horticulture strategy that will entail that we start with fruits and then move into other products,” he said.
Horticulture is one of the key sub-pillars of the economy in terms of export earnings and the country’s trade promotion body, Zimtrade is also working on assisting farmers to gain access to regional and international markets.
“We have a huge demand for products on the global market and we will be working with smallholder. Farmers to link them with key markets,” he said.
The country is moving to revive the horticultural sector which had plummeted over the past two decades.
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