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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
WHEN Mr James Tizora quit his job as a security guard at a local security company in 2018, he retraced his steps back to his rural home in Gokwe South.

While other people feel out of options when they leave their jobs, Mr Tizora decided that the land would become his source of sustenance as his company was not paying him well.

Mr Tizora

Tizora Village in Ward 16, Gokwe South under Chief Njelele is located in a hilly area some 12km from Gokwe Centre along the Gokwe-Chitekete highway and most villagers depend on food aid from Government or non-Governmental organisations.

Not Mr Tizora and his wife Christine.

The father of four children and his wife decided to start keeping livestock.

He said he now has 100 chickens, four cattle and 48 goats.

“We started this goat project two years ago with 25 goats and now they are 48. We sell some as far as Gokwe centre and the good thing is we have quality goats and we determine the price. We can sell a Boer goat for US$120 and that’s how we are making a living,” he said.

Mrs Tizora said life was now better for them in their rural area.

Mrs Tizora

“I don’t want to lie; we are okay from these goats. We have started chicken projects and these layers give us eggs which we also sell. We eat good food, we are extending our homestead, we have solar for lighting and what more could we ask for. We even bought our own maize seed using proceeds from our projects and we didn’t have to wait for Government input support scheme. Right now, many people with formal jobs have been affected by this virus but we are still going strong selling goats, eggs and chickens,” she said.

“We have chickens and our plans are to look for an incubator. Right now, we are using our turkeys as incubators to lay many eggs. One turkey can lay 60 eggs.”

Gokwe South District agriculture extension officer Mr Simon Gumindoga said his district has a population of about 300 000 people.

On average, he said they need about 44 000 tonnes of cereal to feed people in the district.

Mr Gumindoga said initiatives by the Tizora’s were easing pressure on food aid from the Government and other non-Governmental organisations.

“This is a welcome development for the community at large because Government is advocating for a food secure country coming from the household,” he said.

Mr Gumindoga said goat meat was becoming popular because of its health benefits adding that they were working to identify potential markets outside Gokwe South for villagers.

He said they also offer training on how to keep goats and other livestock well so that they realise maximum benefits.

“Goat meat is nutritious and healthier than beef. In other countries, goat meat is popular and the milk is used to feed weaned babies while the hides are processed into different products that fetch meaningful prices on the market. In Zimbabwe the Moslem community requires goat meat,” said Mr Gumindoga.

Gokwe South nutritionist under the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Miss Takudzwa Tiengane urged farmers to always consider value addition.