-projects 10t/hectare
SYDNEY MUBAIWA
MASVINGO- Prominent Masvingo business mogul, Philimon Mutangiri has become the envy of many after putting 200 hectares of Riverton Farm under maize where he is expecting to harvest a whopping 10 tonnes per hectare.
Speaking during a recent field day at Riverton Farm, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said although the province traditionally focuses on traditional grains, investment in irrigation farming could position Masvingo as a major cereal production hub ,noting that it holds 52 percent of the country’s harvested water which must be used to ensure food security.
He urged farmers to emulate Mutangiri and embrace modern technologies and value addition.
“What we are seeing here today is a testament that President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 mantra is achievable. We want to reach a point where we produce and manufacture our own products here in Masvingo.
“With farmers like Mutangiri, the country’s food security is guaranteed and we will have surplus as well,” he said.
He commended Mutangiri for his agricultural prowess after putting 250 hectares under winter wheat last year, a development that has helped the province to record 4 800 hectares of targeted 5 000 hectares for the strategic crop.
He said increased wheat production, value addition and integrated farming systems can unlock significant economic opportunities while lowering the cost of basic commodities like bread.
“As a country, we want to reach a point where we can produce more wheat and manufacture our own bread here in Masvingo.
“Once we cut off transport and other costs across the value chain, a loaf of bread should cost less than a dollar. With this commendable achievement and with an increasing wheat output and on farm bakeries, a loaf of bread should not continue costing a dollar,” he said.
Speaking during a field tour, Mutangiri said there was a high demand and liquidity within the country’s economy, which farmers could tap into by producing what the market needed.
“Here at Riverton Farm, we grow a number of crops, we grow wheat, which we send to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). Part of the wheat is processed at our bakery. We bake bread for our schools and also sell locally
“Once production and processing are done at local level, the price of the products naturally go down. I challenge other farmers to emulate what I am doing so that the country prospers. Each farmer must be given a target,” he said.
Mutangiri credited President Mnangagwa as the inspirational force behind his new found passion for farming.
“When I came here, this area was a thick bush and I didn’t know that I was sitting on unlimited wealth by not utilising the land through farming. I was only focusing on schools but now I have realised that there is a lot of money through tilling the land,” he said.
He said President Mnangagwa’s farming enterprise at Precabe Farm in Kwekwe won him plaudits within and beyond the country’s borders, a development which drove him to venture into farming.
“I was only into cattle ranching to supply meat to our students. However, it was only when I visited the President’s farm in Kwekwe where I was asked to survey underground water.
“What I saw at Precabe Farm stunned me and I learnt a lot.
“I told myself that I was underutilising this farm and came back with a changed mindset after realising that I was sitting on unlimited wealth.
“I turned swathes of bushes into this greenbelt. This whole area which is now decorated by verdant wheat was a thick bush of thorns and big trees. We managed to clear the land and made these strides to get to where we are today,” he said.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank President Mnangagwa for transforming the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the way to go,” he said.
He urged government to continue constructing dams and borehole drilling to enhance irrigation farming.
Mutangiri added that the province is well positioned to unleash its agricultural potential and exorcise its perennial records of hunger only if land is fully utilised.
The businessman urged government to fund farmers to unlock their agricultural potential.
Located about 65km east of Masvingo City and positioned within the borders of Chipinda communal lands in the northern fringes of Zaka district, Riverton has also been hailed for academic excellence.
Mutangiri, a former waiter and teacher was born in 1958 in Murinye communal lands, Masvingo district.
He trained as a teacher at Morgenster Mission and taught at several schools across the province before venturing into the transport industry where he owned a fleet of buses and trucks.
The transport sector enabled him to purchase the farm where he later founded Riverton Group of Schools which started with less than 20 students in 2004.
Currently the school has an enrolment of over 1000 students.
The Riverton Group of Schools franchise is on an expansion drive with Riverton Westview located along Bulawayo Road, Riverton Girls High in Glenlivert area near Lake Mutirikwi and Riverton- Murinye in his rural home under Chief Murinye.
The farmer who is also into poultry, fish farming and dairy is intending to utilise farm produce to supply food in boarding schools to lessen the burden of fees payment by parents. His vision is to make sure that the school fees become affordable and every child gets an opportunity to go to school.
