Nqobile Bhebhe, nqobile.bhebhe@chronicle.co.zw
FARMERS in Insiza District have begun preparations for this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), with livestock producers already selecting and grooming animals for exhibition in what Government has described as a display of foresight and commercial discipline.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri, commended the farmers during a visit to the district, saying their early selection and rearing strategies reflected a high level of commitment to quality production and market readiness.
The annual exhibition is scheduled for April in Bulawayo.
During his tour of farms in the district, Prof Jiri said it was encouraging to see livestock farmers already identifying and preparing animals for exhibition at this year’s showcase.
“Preparations for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair are already ongoing and we are seeing a very meticulous animal rearing process here at this farm.
“We realise that the farmer concentrates on commercial sales, really maintaining the animals throughout the year, feeding them and ensuring that once a year, they then dispose of the animal, which is a very good strategy because it’s low cost and eventually you get the sales in numbers as opposed to pen fattening, where you concentrate on blocks of three months and disposing them at highest advantage,” he said.
Prof Jiri said the sustained feeding and annual sales model adopted by farmers in Insiza demonstrated resilience and efficiency, particularly in the context of climate variability and rising input costs.
He noted that while pen fattening remained viable for some producers, the district’s low cost, pasture based production system offered long term sustainability and helped protect farmers from unpredictable feed prices.
The Permanent Secretary also urged communal farmers to make full use of their small land holdings, stressing that productivity and innovation — rather than land size — determine agricultural success.
“It’s possible to develop a piece of land at your communal home and make it into an agro-industry. Ordinarily, rural homes and rural households have two, three, four hectares, which is enough to do intensive production.
“Horticulture, orchard and even developing the homestead to be an agro-tourist centre, it is possible. So you do not need a huge piece of land to be effective in farming or to really mitigate against hunger and climate change.
“You just need to focus and really invest in that small piece of land to produce food and a homely place, which can be taken as a resort.
“We see here the orchard, the production here, the investment in solar, the investment in a guest house. This makes this place a resort in itself, but more importantly an agro-tourist place where production happens and it is very good to live in,” he said.
Prof Jiri added that the integration of horticulture, livestock production, renewable energy and agro-tourism aligned with Government’s rural industrialisation agenda, which seeks to transform rural households into viable economic hubs.
He said climate-smart agriculture, solar-powered irrigation and value addition at household level were key to strengthening food security and mitigating the effects of climate change.
The model emerging in Insiza, he said, demonstrated that with proper planning, disciplined reinvestment and diversification, communal farmers can build sustainable livelihoods, generate income and contribute meaningfully to national agricultural output.
As the country prepares for ZITF, Prof Jiri said showcasing such success stories would motivate other farmers to adopt innovative, low-cost and climate-resilient production systems that maximise available resources while driving rural prosperity.
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