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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]

MAGAYA Farming Group members in Gwanda District have started harvesting their first-ever batch of fish under a project that is set to transform their lives.

The farmers from Magaya Village in Ward 17 embarked on the fish farming project in October last year. They partnered with Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust which assisted the farmers with some resources to establish the project.

The farmers seeded 5 000 fingerlings in October. They mobilised resources to buy 3 500 fingerlings and the Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust chipped in with 1 500. The members constructed a fish pond and engaged the trust which assisted them in pumping water into the fish pond. 

The farmers were also capacitated with knowledge on how to produce fish. The vice chairperson of the group, Mr Daniel Siziba said they have so far harvested about 600 fish from the pond.

“It’s been six months since we started the project and now we are harvesting. We harvested twice and we caught about 600 fish which are of good quality,” he said.

“We first find a market before we harvest so that we don’t incur losses. The fish we catch immediately go to our customers. We visited a fish farming project at a neighbouring village and that’s when we decided to start our own project.”

Mr Siziba said they sell the fish to local community members with some buying in bulk for resale. He said they are targeting to establish five more fish ponds to expand their business.

A member of the group, Mr Daniel Nyathi said they received training on how to feed the fish and the type of feed they have to use throughout the different stages of growth. 

He said they were also trained in marketing.

Mr Nyathi said as farmers they also alternate to guard the fish pond at night.

“Our project is now in full swing and we are getting a good response from community members. We make use of the WhatsApp platform to market our fish to various groups and the people place their orders,” he said.

Another farmer, Ms Brenda Sibanda said the fish project will go a long way in alleviating poverty. She said it will not only benefit members of the project but also the entire community.

Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust director, Mr Mike Moyo said the project is being implemented under their study circle methodology which is being implemented in six wards in Gwanda district. 

“Under the study circle methodology, we group six to 12 people who have a common interest. They come together and we capacitate them on the specific programme which they want to implement,” he said.

“If we don’t have a person with the specific skills within the organisation, we then engage consultants who train the farmers to train others. We have study circles at the village level and then ward associations which are made up of various study circles.”

Mr Moyo said the concept behind these study circles is to ensure that farmers share knowledge and experiences in their various farming enterprises. 

“We don’t impose projects on farmers but we work with what they have and the projects they wish to embark on,” he said.

Mr Moyo said they are supporting five fish ponds in four wards. He said four fish ponds are fully operational while the fifth one is yet to be planted with fingerlings.

He said plans are underway to drill a borehole for the Magaya Village farmers which will support an integrated gardening project.

“In the projects that we are implementing, we want to have at least two running projects so that when one doesn’t do well they can have an alternative. These gardens are designed to contribute to sustainable economic activities and build community resilience to climate change,” said Mr Moyo.

“The gardens are targeting cash crops such as vegetables, leguminous plants, root crops, fodder crops and various fruit trees.”

Mr Moyo said other projects being implemented include poultry, craft, detergent making, and goat production. He said they will be introducing beekeeping in August. — @DubeMatutu