Tinaani Nyabereka


GWERU – Dairy farmers in the Midlands province are worried by shortages of stock feed and the consequential increase in prices, and have said they can no longer afford to buy the product and sustain their best capacities.
Midlands Provincial Crops and Livestock production officer, Medline Magwenzi said shortages and high prices of stock feeds was having a severe negative impact on the dairy sector.
“Farmers say it is now very hard for them to get stock feeds on the market and the little that is available is very expensive. This is bad for our farmers who are trying to maintain their herds in face of below normal rainfall in most parts of the province.
“It would be helpful if government reintroduced the stock feeds programme as we had in Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts last year. Farmers were buying the product for $7 instead of the $15 which was being charged by private retailers,” said Magwenzi.
She said the dairy sector was experiencing lower milk yields as farmer could no longer provide their cattle with as much supplementary feeding as they did last year and before.
“The province has a big chunk of the country’s dairy industry but there is need for greater investment and help to make sure the contribution does not diminish,” she said.

Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi Town Council has apologised to residents for the worsening poor service delivery of recent days which the local authority claims is being exacerbated by the current shortage of diesel and petrol.
The council gets its fuel from Tsimeguru which has however been struggling to get supplies; sometimes going for weeks without getting any delivery.
Some people have, however, alleged that the service station is diverting its fuel to the black market with the connivance of corrupt police officers.
Chiredzi Town Council chairperson, Gibson Hwende said service vehicles could no longer respond to such issues as burst pipes and blockages in time due to the shortage of fuel.
“We would like to apologise to our beloved residents that we are facing challenges in accessing fuel and this has resulted in poor responses to emergencies such as sewage blockages and burst water pipes. Our utility vehicles such as the refuse truck are not on the road regularly. We are looking at the alternatives available to make sure everything does not ground to a halt,” said Hwende.
He said council often pays for its fuel in advance but has not been getting the precious liquid for some weeks.
“We have one garage which supplies us with fuel. We have paid up for the fuel but there was not even a single delivery since last week. So what it means is we have to liaise with other fuel suppliers so that when our supplier is dry, they can then assist us,” Hwende said.
One transport operator who spoke on condition of anonymity said some police officers were betraying the public’s trust by aiding the black market.
“Ordinary vehicles find it hard to refuel at Tsimeguru because they are told that there is no fuel. During the night, however, drums are filled up and carried away in the presence of the police,” said one motorist.
Chiredzi has six fuelling stations namely Zuva, Total, Flow, Tsimeguru, Lyonnais and Croco Motors.

Brighton Chiseva


MASVINGO – While there is an outcry from members of the public to have members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) removed from the streets for brutalising and victimising innocent civilians, an MDC Alliance councillor with Masvingo Municipality dropped a bombshell in the full council meeting held on Monday this week after he pleaded with the management to engage military services to restore sanity in the city.
Ward three councillor Tarusenga Vhembo, an ex-soldier, said it was high time that council hires the army since both municipal and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) had already failed to stop illegal taxis from pirating in town.
According to Vhembo, having the army in the streets to control operations has become ‘fashionable to the extent that the council needed to also move with times’.
“It’s not a secret that the army is now everywhere. We see the army manning shops, controlling queues and doing all sorts of things in town. Why can’t we engage the army as the council to stop the menace caused by illegal taxis? We have seen that ZRP is reluctant to assist us because they are benefiting in this chaos. Let’s hire the army,” Vhembo pleaded in the full council meeting.
“Only soldiers will bring back sanity into the city because people seem to have lost respect and fear of the police,”  added Vhembo.
The city council has failed to control the Harare, Bulawayo and Gweru bound buses who are supposed to be using the Mucheke Rank but have created their own at Croco Motors.
Buses to Mutare, Gutu and Zaka have also shunned the designated rank opting to operate at the Family of God Church illegal terminus.
Public transport to Chiredzi, Chivi and Beitbridge have also refused to use the Mucheke Rank opting to operate at an illegal site near Benjamin Burombo complex.
Mayor Collen Maboke lamented the lack of competence in the municipal police saying in other cities they were feared more than ZRP and soldiers.
However, Maboke said it was not possible for the council to hire soldiers citing constitutional limitations.
“We follow the law…the circumstances that allow us to engage military services are clearly stated in the constitution,” said Maboke.
The city council refuses to recognise the Croco Motors illegal rank but they send their police officers to collect ranking fees from the buses that use the makeshift rank.

Precila Takabvirakare


MPANDAWANA – Mavis Kweteza (28) of Chinasire village under Chief Mataruse was recently sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, with six months of the sentence conditionally suspended after she was convicted for pouring hot water on her husband whom she suspected of cheating.
She was charged for contravening Section 3(1) (a) of the Domestic Violence Act Chapter 5:16 ‘Physical Abuse’.
State facts were that on October 26, 2018 at around 18:00 hours, Kweteza saw a picture of her husband William Matenga’s alleged former girlfriend in his memory card.
A misunderstanding arose between the two and Kweteza prevented Matenga from going to work.
On December 06, at around 11:00 hours, Matenga managed to go to Harare to look for some piece jobs to do and he came back home on December 25.
The following morning, at around 06:30 hours, while Matenga was sleeping, Kweteza poured hot water on his back. When he stood up, she then poured again hot water on his chest and right leg. The matter was reported to the police leading to Kweteza’s arrest.
When asked by magistrate Victor Mahamadi why she committed the offence, Kweteza said she was angry with him and she did it as a way of punishing him.
“I was not amused by what had happened. I did that out of anger to punish him not knowing I was committing a serious offence,” said Kweteza
Kudakwashe Muza represented the State.

Last week we talked about an Avanos hybrid cucumber which I hope our valued farmers are very much interested in. This week we are talking about an outstanding Starke Ayres tomato hybrid called STAR 9009. The tomato seeds are produced by a reputable seed company called Charter Seeds
It is a determinate hybrid with outstanding disease resistance and long shelf life compared to other varieties. 9009 is a green plant determinate growth habit which enhance trellising to keep the fruit from diseases.  The height varies from 1.4m to 1.7m which enhances 3 to 4 wires for trellising.
First and foremost, when a farmer wants to grow the fruit, he/she must prepare the land accordingly. This includes the testing of soil to find the alkalinity or acidity (Soil PH) of the soil intended to be used for growing the crop. This helps to determine the amount of nutrients needed and the rate of application. Local Agricultural extension officers may help to find areas where the soil testing is done.
When planting 9009 tomato, correct fertilizers such as Superfert compound C at a rate of 1000kg to 1500kg per hectare should be used. Farmers can use sulphate or potash, dolomite lime or vegetable blend as basal fertilizers.
It should also be noted that fertilizer should be correctly positioned to maintain a high nutrient intensity in each root zone since the zone of maximum nutrient uptake changes with root growth during the plant life. Root growth on tomato plants is very essential as it promotes good plant growth and continuous flowering. Fertilizer must be applied below the roots in 3 different depths or layers.
The plant population should range between 18 000 to 20 000 per hectare.  That means in a row there should be a space of about 30cm and inter row 1.5m.  This gives a good aeration space amongst the plants.
For top dressing, Ammonium nitrate super fertiliser at a rate of 8g per plant or 220g per 10m row on day 7, 14 and 28 after transplanting is ideal.
After that the farmer should apply Potassium Nitrate using the same rate as Ammonium Nitrate on day 35 and after every 10 days during their living period.  Calcium nitrate super fertiliser is then applied during fruiting as a foliar spray at 1% solution or 10g per litre of water or 150g per 15l knapsack after every 2 weeks.  NOTE, calcium nitrate should be applied early in the morning or late afternoon to avoid plant burnt by heat. Full plant cover should be applied.

PESTS
Chemicals like Lambda, Chlorpyrifos karate or Fenvelerate should be sprayed on wet soil to achieve best results as a way of eliminating cutworms
For White flies that spread diseases, farmers are urged to use effective chemicals such as thunder, Actara, Pilarmos or use superior liquid detergent soap.
Pests like the deadly Tuta Absoluta has caused a havoc to tomato farmers in Zimbabwe. This pest can reduce yields by 50% if not regularly monitored. Spray chemicals like Ambligo, Belt, Trigard, Levo, Cartap hydrochloride or steward can be used.
Another pest called Leaf miner can be controlled using karate DDVP or Dimethoate.
For Red spider mite, one of the commonest pest in most area, red spider kill, Amitraz, Abamectin, Diazinon, Dynamic or Tetradifon can be applied to control it.
For Heliothis larvae, farmers are urged to we use DDVP, karate or Fenvelerate while they can use oxamyl, velum or Solvigo for nematodes.

DISEASES
Early and late blight diseases can be controlled by spraying copper oxychloride, Dithane m45 or Mancozeb. Since these chemicals are used as preventive measures, the farmer need not to wait for the signs of the disease.
In case of infection by the blight diseases, a farmer ought to use Ridomil Gold, Bravo, Amistar top or Folio gold as curative method.
If the plant is affected by soil borne diseases, Thiram is the most appropriate chemical to use.
NOTE, insects and disease control do not depend on a single chemical but may use a combination of chemicals in conjunction with a wetter or sticker.
The maturity period of Starke Ayres tomato is between 80-85 days and the fruit weighs must be 150g. The yield per plant is 5 to 8kg or 100 to 160 tonnes per hectare and this must give us a good return in monitory value.
In the Masvingo a kilogram of tomatoes is selling at about $2.00, which a farmer can get at least $200 000.00 per hectare.
 This is a good hybrid a farmer can plant. It has a high yield. We can plant star 9009 from late August to early March but year round if it’s under greenhouse.

For more information you may contact me on 
0772 137 202/ 0777 429 362 or our sales team on 039-2264246


Written by Vengai Defu
Farm and city manager

…as college defy court order to stop the exam

Clayton Shereni

Students at Masvingo Polytechnic College were yesterday ordered to re-write a Higher Education Examination Council (HEXCO) exam under the watchful eye of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) amid fears of a demonstration over the decision which students cited as an unjust call by the school authorities.
The college management went on to run the examination process dispite the fact that students had successfully secured a court order to stop the process.
Students from engineering, technical graphics, commerce and diesel plant fitting among others who sat for the November 13, 2018, examination in the school dining hall had their results suspended after HEXCO external assessors caught some students cheating.
The eternal assessors should have disqualified the cheating students immediately but they are said to have let them proceed with the exam in direct violation of the examination rules.
The students had refused the first attempt for a re-write and threatened to take legal action against the school but the second re-write attempt seems to have succeeded with the help of the police.
At least 15 police officers armed with button sticks and a police dog manned the school premises while on high alert as the exam was reportedly in progress.
Students argued that the authorities had to disqualify the cheating students not everyone since the perpetrators had been caught committing the offense.
However, when TellZim News crew visited Masvingo Poly for further investigations, the police were seen loitering around the school gate and some of them seated in their pickup truck while the students were reportedly writing the exam.
Contacted for comment, the school principal Engineer Calisto Muzongondi rubbished the reports and claimed everything was going smoothly and claimed the exams were in progress.
“No one has refused to write an exam. Everything is going on well. All our students are writing their exams,” said Muzongondi.
However, asked on the reason why there was police presence at the school premises Muzongondi said the police were doing their normal job and maintaining order.
“The police are just doing their everyday job, they are here to maintain order if need arises,” added Muzongondi.

Cephas Shava


MWENEZI – Several village heads under Chief Chitanga have been unsettled by the possibility of losing their posts in the event that Julius Mpapa succeeds in reviving his own chieftainship.
To cushion themselves against the impending displacement, the unsettled village heads are now said to be wantonly selling grazing land to home-seekers
Towards the end of last year, Mpapa appointed his own headmen and village heads as part of the process to revitalise his chieftainship whose vast area has been presided over by Chief Chitanga.
This followed government’s acceptance of submissions that the Mpapa chieftainship, which was destroyed by colonial rulers, be revived.
In an interview with TellZim News, Mpapa’s secretary Nyashadzaishe Chidoni confirmed the wanton parcelling of State land by Chief Chitanga’s disgruntled village heads.
“There seems to be a bad motive behind this wanton parcelling of grazing lands by the current village heads who are Chief Chitanga’s appointees. Grazing land is being sold to villagers and others from elsewhere at varying costs. We hear others are paying for the land using cattle.
“There is need for the Ministry of Lands to quickly intervene before the situation goes out of control. In several areas of Ward 13 like Marivill, Mariot, villages 7, 8, 12 and many others, we are receiving such reports on a daily basis. The rate at which grazing land is being sold is very alarming,” said Chidoni.
Although repeated efforts to get Chief Chitanga’s side of the story were fruitless as his mobile was unreachable, people who spoke to TellZim News said many of his ‘outgoing’ village heads were involved.
They said the village heads know that their time will soon be up so they were trying to make the best out of a desperate situation.
“The problem is that some of these village heads were just illegally handpicked to lead. Some even used cattle to get those positions. They are fully aware that the revival of the Mpapa chieftainship is a disaster for them as they are going to lose those posts. They are auctioning State land as part of efforts to amass wealth by any means possible while they still have a chance,” said a source.