By Rangarirai Shanyurai

The highly anticipated Masvingo Agricultural Show kicked off today, September 26, and will run through September 29, 2024 at the Masvingo Show Grounds.

Speaking to TellZim News, Masvingo Provincial Show Society spokesperson Rodgers Irimayi said the event was going to be bigger as more than 120 exhibitors have confirmed their participation.

“We are excited about the diverse line-up of exhibitors, demonstrations, and interactive activities to come at the event. This marks the 64^th edition of the show which runs with the theme ‘Moving towards economic development and growth’ and will be hosting artists including Killer T, Michael Magz, Jonah Moyo and Devera Ngwena band members,” said Irimayi.

He went on to say the show was not only going to attract farmers but people from all walks of life.

“This year’s show will attract farmers, educational institutions, banks, industry and health ministry representatives, the business community, and various companies. It serves as a prime opportunity for all attendees to showcase their offerings.

 “We urge citizens to attend the event and we have a lot of activities which involve traditional dance, horse riding, Tanzanian motor quad bikes, Zim Parks and ZRP and ZPCS full display,” he said.

He said judges who will determine the winners at the show were already there as well as prizes to be won.

The official opening of the show will be on the 28^th with tickets being sold for only US$3 for kids and US$5 for adults.

By Beverly Bizeki

Masvingo District’s Chiponda Community Garden has been plunged into a crisis after losing a water pump used for irrigating crops at the garden project to thieves on September 13, 2024.
As climate change effects continue to hit hard with countries in Southern Africa slowly moving away from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation, Chiponda Community Garden is one of the most thriving irrigation garden projects in Masvingo district.
Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the theft and said the stolen equipment, a water pump, controller and connection cable had a total value of US$500.
“I confirm the theft of irrigation equipment at Chiponda Community Garden in Muchibwa to the tune of US$500. Investigations are ongoing and members of the public with information on the suspects are encouraged to report to the nearest police station,” said Dhewa.
Circumstances are that on September 13 at around 1800 hours, Coaster Mamvura (66) from Mukazi Village and Cephas Nyeketa (74) from Chiponda Village Chief Nyajena who are both security guards at the garden started work for the night shift.
At around 0400 hours the following morning while scouting the place, the duo discovered that the garden fence had been cut and the pump, controller and connection cable were missing.
The matter was reported to Renco Mine Police station and the matter is under investigations.
Chiponda Garden Chairperson, Raina Majapi said they were saddened by the situation but they had gotten assistance from Headman Muchibwa who has since given them a new pump but they were yet to raise funds for the installation.
“We have been assisted by Headman Muchibwa to replace the pump. We have since borrowed US$155 to replace the water connection cable and joining kit and we are trying to raise funds for installation and that needs to be done urgently,” said Majapi.
Chiponda Garden Agritex Officer, Fungai Museva said the water shortage was detrimental to crop yield with the crops already wilting.
“Crop yield will decrease in quality and quantity due to water shortage. Some of the crops are in temporary wilting so I pray the garden gets assistance urgently to save the situation,” said Museva.
Another committee member, Janet Mutubuki said the theft of the pump was retrogressive as plants in the garden were already being affected.
“Our plants are already being affected as the water from one of the tanks we have in the borehole is not enough for irrigating all our crops. At the moment we have come up with duties for irrigation to avoid people clashing on the few resources available but this is not enough to sustain the need.
“We are appealing to well-wishers who can assist us financially so that we can have the pump replaced to save our crops from wilting,” said Mutubuki.
The Chiponda Community Garden project started in 2020 with 52 beneficiaries but has now transformed into a community garden with 80 beneficiaries; 73 women and 7 men.
Community gardens have been a source of livelihood for many communities in rural areas, enhancing food security as well as being a source of income for the beneficiaries whilst complementing harvests from rain-fed agriculture.

By Perpetua Murungweni

Four learners from Masvingo province are among the winners of the National Ozone competitions held in commemoration of World Ozone Day on September 16.
The learners walked away with cash prizes ranging between US$50 and US$75 each while their schools got US$50 each.
The competitions were sponsored by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and National Ozone Unit (NOU) in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife and Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE).
The prizes were presented to winners at a ceremony held on September 19 at Chevron Hotel.
World Ozone Day which is commemorated annually on September 16, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol is aimed at raising public awareness on activities that could cause Ozone depletion.
2 087 learners participated in the completion nationwide and only 18 winners were selected. Three winners were selected per category and the categories were ECD A to grade two, grades three to four, five to seven, forms one to two, forms three to four and forms five to six.
Out of the 18 winners, four of them were from Masvingo province; two primary learners from Hellen Mcghie and two secondary learners; one from Hebron High School in Mwenezi and another from St Engenas Zivavose High School in Zaka.
Amukelani Hlungwani from Hebron High School was in third position in the form three to four category and walked away with US$50 and the school also got US$50. Enough Majaura from Zivavose scooped second position in the forms five to six category and was given US$ 75 while his school got US$ 50.
Hellen Mcghie winners were Samara Sosola from ECD who bagged third position and won US$50 and another US$50 for the school as well as Kunashe Chimuti who came second in the grades three to four category and walked away with US$75 while the school got another US$50.
Hellen Macghie Deputy Headmaster Anna Gwini said the competition was not just a competition for the kids but it was also a learning process for them in matters that have to do with climate change.
“In this competition as the learners were doing their writeups, they came across some words in connection with the Ozone layer and in the process they had to research to find meaning thereby increasing their knowledge and developing awareness on Ozone layer protection.
Hebron High School Head John Mangani said the completion had imparted learners with knowledge and information on the effects of ozone depletion.
“The competition is not about winning but about the training and knowledge of the ozone layer and it should go a long way in making sure that learners know the dangers and effects of ozone depletion and how to combat it. The learners will cascade information into the community so that people are aware of the possible hazards of using certain fuels that damage the ozone layer,”said Mangani.
MoPSE Education Research Director Dr Patrick Ngandini said the competition was a must-take for all schools as it gives learners knowledge on climate management.
“There is need to continuously hold these competitions as they benefit schools and enhance stakeholder participation because if people don’t understand these issues, the ignorance will affect us in the future,” said Ngandini.

By Virginia Njovo

Masvingo district’s Zvinyaningwe Community Garden recently got support to develop their 2-hectares garden into a fully-fledged irrigation scheme from the United Nations Development Partner (UNDP) in collaboration with the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Established in 2013, the garden project involves ninety households, including Muzhwi Primary School and draws water from Muzhwi Dam.
Speaking to TellZim News, Zvinyaningwe Irrigation Scheme Chairperson Tafirenyika Mazivisa said it took them time to be recognized and get help to develop from the small portion which they were farming in their own capacity.
“Our project started in June 2013 when we were operating at a small scale in our own capacity and later got registered as a cooperation in June 2016. Fortunately we got our partner in 2021 and we are starting to realise our vision of having an irrigation scheme to sustain ourselves and our families,” said Mazivisa.
Mazivisa said they had tried their best to include women and youth as well.
“Our scheme has 48 women, 14 men, 26 youth, 14 of which are female and 12 are male. This shows the future of our irrigation is bright since there is young blood which will continue with the operations,” said Mazivisa.
The community has managed to clear 46ha needed as well as fencing 2700 meters of the scheme while waiting for their donor to provide funding for the remaining meters while calling for those able to finance the remaining work to chip in.
A beneficiary from the scheme, Christine Mavhika indicated that due to ignorance on climatic conditions farmers were suffering from drought since they had little knowledge on climate change as well as how they were supposed to adapt to these changes.
“We were not aware of climate change, we were only following the seasons which we knew from long back not knowing it is already among us and we suffered from drought year after year as we only had a small portion which we were irrigating. We are grateful for the intervention of UNDP and GCF for sharing climate change knowledge as well as assisting us in implementing mitigatory strategies,” said Mavhika.
Ward 4 Agritex Officer, Vonai Hove said she was working with GCF, UNDP and the government in educating farmers on how to create seasonal calendars which they should use when they start farming as well as resource allocation.
“We are in region four where rainfall patterns are not regular. I will be teaching farmers on crop rotation when receiving normal rainfall, below normal rainfall as well as above normal rainfall so they know which calendar they must use,” said Hove.
UNDP provided funding to purchase a floating pontoon (pump), 4.6km main conveyance pipe, 46ha sprinkle system, fencing among other things.
The scheme currently has a chilli nursery and is expected to plant soon after the completion of fencing.
Zimbabwe has over 10 000 inland water bodies and Masvingo province owns 60 percent of them yet it is one of the provinces most affected by drought.