NGO contracts 6 000 Gokwe small-holder farmers in Zimbabwe

Source: NGO contracts 6 000 Gokwe small-holder farmers – NewsDay Zimbabwe BY AMOS BATISAYI MORE than 6 000 small-holder farmers in Gokwe have been contracted by the Agriculture Business Centre (ABC) to produce sunflower, sorghum, pearl millet, cowpeas, Bambara nuts and chillies for the 2021/22 farming season. ABC general manager Vernon Mushoriwa told Southern Eye that they were assisting farmers to grow drought-resistant crops, which are doing well in Gokwe South and are turning out to be cash crops in the district. For sunflower, Mushoriwa said their target was to get 4 000 farmers on board. “This is our third year in the production of sunflower and other small grain crops. The social enterprise has seen an increase in the demand for sunflower production by small-holder farmers in Gokwe. This has forced ABC to increase seed given to farmers from 5 000kg in 2020/21 to more than 22 000kg in the 2021/22 farming season. “Sunflower farming has, over the years, been sidelined by ...