Zimpapers Logo

Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]

AS the summer cropping season draws closer, Mealie Brand, a division of Zimplow, has introduced a range of equipment and techniques designed to complement Government initiatives promoting conservation farming.

These initiatives aim to reduce the labour associated with conservation farming while also minimising soil tillage, which leads to soil disturbances. In an interview, Mealie Brand production manager, Engineer Special Musoni, explained that conservation farming encompasses various aspects, including minimal soil disturbance, energy utilisation, and labour productivity.

He stated that conservation farming should reduce the amount of energy required, including fuel, machinery, and manual labour needed for the entire process.
“Farmers should have a holistic understanding of what conservation agriculture entails. Soil disturbance is one of many aspects, with its accruing benefits of soil revitalisation along the process,” said Eng Musoni.

“From that perspective, Mealie Brand has developed two key products, with two different value chains in the hybrid of value chains in terms of the vertical integration on how we are supplying the product.

“The first product is the two-wheel planter, which can be used for planting without tillage. You can directly place the seed into the ground without tillage, which is zero-till planting.”

The two-wheel planter opens up the furrow along planting lines, drops the seed and fertiliser, closes the lines, and compacts all in one pass. It is a two-row machine.
He said the cost of producing the product was high, but they are working on reducing it so that farmers can access it.

He also noted that the equipment reduces the number of machines needed by farmers, as the planter can also perform chemical weeding in a single pass.
“This planter uses only 4l of diesel per hectare. In comparison, conventional farming requires buying a drum of fuel, paying between US$50 and US$80 for labour to do the tillage, and then returning to do the planting with three to four people needed to plant using hoes in tilled land,” he said.

“So, consider the number of machines, labour, and fuel. Using our new two-wheel planter, you use 4l of fuel per hectare and operate with one person and one machine.

“This is how we have conserved labour, and fuel, and reduced the mechanisation requirements to introduce the seed into the ground.”

The Government continues to urge farmers to practice conservation farming, including pfumvudza/intwasa and irrigation, among other initiatives, to improve productivity and revitalise the soil.

Pfumvudza/intwasa is commonly practiced by small-scale farmers who use hoes to prepare the ground where the seed is to be placed. However, Eng Musoni noted that it is labour-intensive, hence the need to introduce small engines like the hand auger to assist small farmers.

He said small engines like two-wheel ploughs bridge the gap between commercial farmers who use large tractors and peasant farmers who use ox-drawn ploughs, which has been a challenge for medium-sized farmers.

“After the Land Reform Programme, the Government introduced farmers with between one and 50 hectares. These farmers cannot viably operate using animals or tractors; they are in between. The question is, do we have in-between technology?” said Eng Musoni.

“This is why there is a drive in Africa, through the African Development Bank, to introduce small engine-backed technologies in the African agricultural value chains.”

He said farmers can use that small engine from planting to harvesting. The same engine can pull a trailer, pump water, and be used in milling and crushing.
Additionally, Mealie Brand has introduced ox-drawn plough equipment, which can be used to plant seeds instead of using a ploughshare that tills the entire ground. – @SikhulekelaniM1.