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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
A BULAWAYO-BASED clergyman, who is a beneficiary of the land reform programme, has transformed his piece of land at Heany Junction in Umguza District into a viable commercial farming project specialising in horticulture and poultry.

His success story is a remarkable testimony of what is possible when people who benefited from the land reform programme utilise their land productively.

By virtue of being a farmer-cum-pastor, Reverend Pastor Stanislas Vavashe of New Life for All Church Ministries has a consistent call to balance his time and energy between pastoral work and farming. He produces tomatoes, onions, cabbages, beetroot and carrots among other horticulture crops.

It is this all-consuming nature of farming, fed by a deep sense of passion and hard work that saw Rev Vavashe flourish in his farming enterprise. He also keeps chickens which give him a daily average of 40 eggs, which he delivers to the market in Bulawayo.

Rev Vavashe supplies vendors with his fresh farm produce. Through his farming project, Rev Vavashe is contributing to the national food security. Zimbabwe is an agrarian economy with most of the country’s sectors being directly and indirectly linked to the agricultural sub-sector.

The Government is working on transforming both rural and urban economies through the enhancement of food production, expansion of markets for farm produce and creation of jobs along the agricultural value chains.

The Horticulture Recovery Plan, which was launched in 2020, is part of Government initiatives under the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy (2020-2025) to transform agriculture from a US$5,2 billion to a US$8,2 billion sector, contributing 20 percent of GDP by 2025 in line with the vision 2030. Rev Vavashe is using a solar-powered borehole to irrigate his crops.

“Soon after benefiting from the land reform programme, I decided to utilise the land productively by venturing into commercial farming. I sell my produce to vendors in Bulawayo,” he said.
Rev Vavashe said he is committed to farming.

“I have a passion for farming and I have realised that farming needs patience as it doesn’t immediately pay dividends. You also have to be a hard worker if you want to be a successful farmer. It is also important to note that one doesn’t necessarily require vast land to be productive,” he said.

Rev Vavashe said what is important is to follow good agronomy practices including crop rotation in order to produce more even on a small piece of land.

“It is therefore, important to seek guidance from agricultural extension officers,” he said.Rev Vavashe uses drip irrigation.

“I grow vegetables, tomatoes, carrots, beetroot and cabbages. I have already planted maize which I will sell as green mealies,” he said.

“While pastoral work is my calling, it is also important that I become self-sufficient as opposed to solely depending on the church for survival. Through farming, I provide for my family and it is also critical for me as a pastor to also preach what I practise. For the first three years, I wasn’t getting anything. I didn’t even have manure and you can’t rely on fertiliser every time. However, later things started falling into place and I am now making weekly deliveries of vegetables to Bulawayo”, said Rev Vavashe.

He said he delivers between 40 and 50 bundles of chomolia, spinach and beetroot making an average of US$150 per week.

“I have Sasso chickens that I keep and they give me at least 40 eggs per day but I am failing to meet demand,” said Rev Vavashe.

The Sasso chickens have more endurance than most chicken breeds and are able to handle extreme climates.

They are easy to breed and don”t require as much health care as other types of chickens. — @nqotshili