By Rex Mphisa
VICE President Constantino Chiwenga has asked commercial farmers in Matabeleland South to build storage dams and increase land under crops.
Chiwenga also asked large citrus growers to consider assisting communal farmers grow citrus in programmes like contract or out grower farming to uplift the rural impoverished farmers.
He was addressing journalists after touring Nottingham Estates, one of Zimbabwe and the region’s largest citrus producers.
“I take off my hat to Nottingham Estates for their vision and building a large storage dam that has allowed them to increase hectarage. I am told they are going to increase their hectarage creating employment and increasing the national gross domestic product,” he said.
“The infrastructure I have seen exceeds what I expected. The government must now see how it can bring water permanently to these areas to increase production. The government should help with this development, ” he said.
Nottingham Estates built a large dam now making it possible yo treble their hectarage under oranges.
Chiwenga and his entourage that included Minister of Energy July Moyo, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Vangelis Peter Haritatos, and several other government officials toured the estate extensively.
They were also taken to a massive solar power plant which has reduced the estate dependency on the national electricity grid.
Chiwenga said it was now important for the farmers to grow with the villagers around them.
My message to farmers is that they must expand and incorporate rural communities. Teach them the skills so that the country’s economy will grow,” he said.
He said the projects he had seen at Nottingham Estates clearly demonstrated that there was need for more water bodies that would turn the once condemned district into a green belt.