By Style Reporter Smallholder farmers are in urgent need of technical knowledge and tailor-made equipment to ensure good quality crops and maximum production from their land, agricultural experts have said.
The country, which has an estimated population of 15 million, reportedly has more than 1,5 million smallholder farmers who account for 80% of total livestock and 50% of land.
Speaking during a recent official launch of DripSol, a new dripline irrigation and farming input company, agriculture engineer Paul Munyonga said the combined need for expertise and other tools of the trade has increased along with rising numbers of people interested in farming.
“These days we have a lot of smallholder farmers with no agriculture background but have passion or land. so the urgent need is expertise and necessary equipment for them to successfully carry out their work,” said Munyonga, who is also DripSol’s design and irrigation engineer.
According to Munyonga, DripSol, which manufactures dripline irrigation pipes to required specification, will also be offering free farming information and advice to its clients.
“Farmers will have an advantage working with us because we are prepared to teach you the way you can strategise your farm, structure,” he said.
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“We will take you step by step in the use of irrigation, chemicals and protection of seeds and crops which will help you at the end of the day in terms of getting the quality yield and maximum production.”
With their first shop located in Bluffhill, Harare, DripSol is set to expand across the country to ensure that farmers will not have to import or travel long distances for irrigation equipment as well as farming inputs.
“Making them (drip lines) according to the specific requirements of the client helps us in quality control,” said DripSol marketing executive Cedric Ndoro.
“Farming is not a one size fits all type of venture and not everyone has the same land or goals with regards to farming, so when you have a local business that is also manufacturing the same product it means we can tailor make things to the benefit of our customers and the nation at large.”