Source: 1 700 get subsidised inputs in Zvimba North – herald
Walter Nyamukondiwa in BANKET
PREPARATIONS for the summer cropping season have begun in earnest for 1 700 women from Zvimba, who have received subsidised input packages to grow a hectare each of maize and cotton.
The package includes 25 kg of maize seed, organic fertilisers and chemicals, while for the hectare of cotton, Southern Cotton will provide inputs and tillage.
Zvimba North Women in Farming Association for Economic Development members received the packages after paying only US$55, in a demonstration of the impact of Public-Private Partnerships in uplifting communities.
The combo, a brainchild of Zvimba North Constituency legislator and Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Cde Marian Chombo, costs around US$200 on the market and draws from the Agric4SHE initiative championed by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa.
The Zvimba North Women in Farming Association for Economic Development commended their patron and legislator, Cde Chombo, for coming up with the empowerment initiative.
Chairperson Mrs Pretty Mugwagwa said the empowerment initiative would boost incomes and promote food security at the household level.
“As women, we face a lot of challenges in keeping the family together and also being empowered, but this initiative is a game-changer for us in Zvimba North,” she said.
“The association has made it easier for us to approach various organisations, strengthening our position as women.”
Cde Chombo said the initiative was made possible through a partnership with seed and fertiliser companies.
“We were challenged by the First Lady through her Agric4SHE Initiative to find ways of also empowering women and we have partnered with several companies including Valley Seeds, CP Chemicals and Genesis Fertilisers to provide support,” she said.
“The women already have their inputs and those distributed under the Pfumvudza Programme will come as a bonus.
“We are happy that Southern Cotton will also provide cotton inputs and tillage for the more than 1 000ha.”
This, she said, was part of President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 to see an empowered Upper Middle-Income society.
Genesis Fertilisers chief executive officer Mr Ponai Matsenyangwa said his organisation was supporting the initiative to empower women.
“We are here to support women in agriculture through the various initiatives drawing from the Agric4SHE being championed by our First Lady (Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa),” he said.
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