Exsto Makunzva
Zvishavane- Horticulture farmers in Midlands province and surrounding areas have found relief since Midlands Seedling Centre a nursery company started its operations in July 2021 in Zvishavane.
Zvishavane Mberengwa Horticultural Farmers Association representative Sebastian Muranga welcomed the development and said it was long overdue as many people within the area have now resorted to farming.
“The rainfall pattern in this region was not favourable to farming but however we defied all odds and farming is blooming here in Zvishavane and Mberengwa. We welcome this development as we used to buy seedlings from as far as Harare and Bulawayo and we would receive them three to five days after they had been taken off from the seed bed, of which they would be wilting. Now we get the seedlings from the seedbed to the permanent bed within hours,” said Muranga.
Pote Holdings operations manager Albert Mabasa applauded the initiative and said they will be able to sell fresh vegetables as they will be grown locally.
“We are very happy. This project is a milestone for us as we sell vegetables in our supermarkets and this project has brought them closer to us. Now our customers can get vegetables whilst they are still fresh as they will be produced locally. We used to get vegetables from as far as Gweru but now it will be good for us and for our customers, “said Mabasa.
The owner of Midlands Seedling Centre Jabulani ‘Magidhivhani’ Nyoni who is also the owner of JM Construction Company said he found out that famers in Zvishavane and Mberengwa were struggling to get their seedlings in time and decided to chip in with this project.
“JM construction is a division of Monitor Enterprises which specialises in Construction, Farming and Mining. So through our farming division, we saw the need of starting a seedling company as we discovered that farmers from this side were getting seedlings from as far as Harare , Bulawayo and Rusape of which it would take maybe up to five days for them to receive their seedlings , that’s why I decided to start Midlands Seedling Centre so that they can get their seedlings within hours instead of days, “said Nyoni.
Celina Sakupwanya, field promoter and Agronomists for Syngenta covering Midlands’s province said the emergency of Midlands Seedling Centre is a welcome development.
“Today we are here in Zvishavane to witness the birth of a new baby in the name of Midlands Seedling Centre. We are providing them with seeds, and I am so happy to witness such a big project. I can say the biggest nursery company I have ever witnessed, I have been to Harare and many other places where I have seen some nurseries but this one is one of its kind. This project will benefit not only people in Zvishavane and Mberengwa but the whole of the Midlands province, Masvingo and the entire southern region because of its capacity,”said Sakupwanya
