The Sunday Mail
Youth Buzz
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
THE adage “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” is proving to be true in the case of a youthful farmer based in Chinhoyi.
Shepherd Matsose is a livestock and maize farmer, who has gone into a joint venture with his close relative, Elijah Muremba, in Chitomborwizi. The 34-year-old is a proud owner of 92 cattle, 70 goats and 105 chickens. He carries out his activities on a 75-hectare piece of land he is renting in Chinhoyi.
He is also leasing another piece of land in Banket, where he is involved in maize farming.
He credits his success to Mr Pencut Magwada, a seasoned farmer who has been one of his mentors.
Typical of many novices, Matsose had a false start when he decided to go against his adviser’s word. This happened when he embarked on his first farming venture.
“He (Mr Magwada) advised me earlier on to till the land soon after every harvest to preserve moisture in the soil. He also gave me the tip not to plant when the first rains fall as these normally bring life to weeds in the soil.”
Matsose felt he was being ill-advised as this strategy was foreign to him. As such, he planted his seed soon after weeding the land.
The results were devastating as weeds sprouted at the same time as the seeds.
“It cost me a lot as I had to find workers to do the weeding. I also needed more chemicals to get rid of the weeds,” Matsose said.
The next planting season, Matsose followed Mr Magwada’s advice to the letter and attained a yield of 10 tonnes of maize per hectare.
“From then on, I never went back to the old way. I was only applying fertiliser as the crop grew,” Matsose said.
By working with Mr Magwada, other seasoned farmers and experts, his harvests continued to improve, simultaneously providing more feed for his livestock.
To encourage more breeding of his livestock, Matsose ensures the cattle are kept and fed in pens. He does this to avoid exposing them to stress arising from the search for pastures.
With this strategy, the herd breeds at a faster rate.
He uses the same strategy on his goats.
“I have learnt that, when you release your livestock to go and find pasture, they won’t have time to breed. Most of the energy goes into finding grazing land. So, our livestock have no time to look for pastures, but to breed.”
With his contacts, Matsose has grown wiser with each passing farming season.
He has learnt that farming is a venture that requires support. He has realised that farming is a long-term investment that requires patience and persistence.
Matsose said his success has arisen because he relates well with banking institutions by repaying his loans on time.
Given such a relationship, banks end up facilitating access to several credit schemes, including Government-backed programmes.
These multiple sources of support have enabled Matsose to expand his business — Matsose Investments.
“We realised that if we slaughtered our livestock and sold the carcases to abattoirs, they would be bought for a song. We, thus, opened butcheries. We are adding value to our operations and creating jobs. We are also supplying hotels with beef, mutton, goat meat and chicken.”
Matsose has now applied to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development for land of his own.
This, he said, will relieve him of the burden of renting pieces of land.
