By Lawrence Paganga
The Zimbabwe government has managed to transform Matabeleland North province into an agricultural region and has seen the region, for the first time, harvesting crops for marketing.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa was in the province at the weekend where he commissioned two projects, the Lupane Water Supply and the Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme.
Through these new agriculture projects, farmers in the region have managed to grow and harvest winter wheat, maize and barley, and are in the process of harvesting or marketing their crops.
For years, Matabeleland North, which is part of region four and five was viewed as a vast arid area not suitable for crop farming.
Farmers concentrated in cattle and goat production while others ventured into wildlife or tourism. The province is home to famed Victoria Falls and the Hwange National Game Park.
However, the government has managed to break this myth and established irrigation schemes and expansion of dams in the region.
“There is no region in Zimbabwe that cannot grow a crop. What we need is to apply correct technology in every region of Zimbabwe,” Mnangagwa said during the commissioning of the two government projects.
“A year ago, this was a bush, but we have decided to grow crops here. It becomes a crop area doing maize, wheat and barley and it went very well.
“Now we know that it is possible and we are going to expand. This province, Mat North, in the past, was not known for any contribution to the national food security because people believed that regions four and five were not suitable for cropping. It is a lie!”
Mnangagwa added: “It can be achievable and you can see it. And again, we are developing the rural areas and if you come back after two years, the families who are working here will have been shifted from poverty to a level where they are now above poverty level.
“And we are going to have this in every province and possibly at the district level as we move on.”
Zimbabwe has 10 administrative provinces.
