Zimpapers Logo

Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
LUPANE State University (LSU) has embarked on commercial farming as part of its programme to reduce reliance on Government support while at the same time imparting practical skills to its students.

The university which is supplied water by Bubi- Lupane Dam, recently installed a 50 000m3 water tank at the campus.

From the storage tank, the water is then pumped to its plot where different crops are being cultivated under irrigation.

Last Saturday, President Mnangagwa commissioned the Lupane Water Treatment Plant which will supply water to Bubi-Lupane irrigation scheme which was also launched by the President.

The treatment plant will also provide treated water to the university and Lupane centre.

LSU Vice Chancellor Prof Pardon Kuipa said the installation of the water tank means that the university is now guaranteed adequate water supplies.

“We have commissioned a raw water tank which is 50 000m3 in capacity at our experimental farm. The experimental farm is a piece of land which we have demarcated from the 480 hectares of land that we have at our campus and we have allocated this land to our students to do experiments for commercial farming,” said Prof Kuipa.

He said commercial farming was meant to generate revenue for the university while at the same time imparting practical farming skills to students.

Prof Kuipa however said the piece of land where students were undertaking commecial farming was too small and as such the university is in urgent need of a farm.

“We are appealing to Government to allocate us a farm so that we can embark on a full-scale commercial farming that will generate a lot of revenue for us.  Now that we have adequate water we can grow crops throughout the year. At the moment we are just limited to 100 hectares which is not enough,” he said.

The university`s marketing and communications director Mr Zwelithini Dlamini said a number of projects are ongoing at the university as part of a double-pronged strategy by the university to reduce reliance on

Government support while at the same time equipping students with practical skills.

“We have a piggery project with 20 piglets but we intend to increase to 100 before year-end so that we commercialise the project. We want to produce breeding stock for farmers as well as pork for our our own consumption and also sell the surplus. We have 800 broilers and 400 layers that produce eggs for the university and the Lupane community,” he said.

Mr Dlamini said the university also has 500 indigenous chickens, goats and different types of fish for research and commercial purposes.— @themkhust