At least 520,000 households in the marginalised zones of Zimbabwe will receive cotton inputs next season under a climate-proofed Pfumvudza agricultural cotton inputs scheme aimed at raising cotton production. Around 387,000 households benefited from the Presidential Cotton Inputs Scheme last season, when tonnage remained below a tonne per hectare.
Pfumvudza is a crop production intensification approach under which farmers ensure the efficient use of resources (inputs and labour) on a small area of land to optimize its management.At least 520,000 households in the marginalised zones of Zimbabwe will receive cotton inputs next season under a climate-proofed Pfumvudza agricultural cotton inputs scheme aimed at raising cotton production. Around 387,000 households benefited from the Presidential Cotton Inputs Scheme last season, when tonnage remained below a tonne per hectare.#
Such a scheme was successfully rolled out on maize and traditional grains in the last two summer cropping seasons, according to lands, agriculture, water, fisheries and rural resettlement minister Anxious Masuka.
Masuka was speaking recently during a tour of the Chegutu Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots and Kadoma Cottco Ginnery.
The government is working on training train nearly 2 million farmers in conservation agriculture and a million have already been trained.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Foundations for Farming (FfF) have been training government extension staff to implement the Pfumvudza concept, according to media reports from the country.
The project is expected to address problems of low productivity and production, which make farmers and households more resilient to climate shocks. The scheme also has potential for commercialisation by encouraging smallholder farmers to produce surplus food to earn a regular income.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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