|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
|
Writes Elvis Dumba
Chinhoyi – A Chinhoyi-based young woman has caught the eyes of Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Hon Marian Chombo after she turned an urban piece of land into a vibrant agriculture enterprise boasting of a fish farming project.
Grace Gaidzanwa erected a small dam from the harvested flooding water in an area on a wetland. She specializes in organic gardening, supplying vegetables to local schools and the Chinhoyi community.
Gaidzanwa’s passion for farming is limited by the small piece of land where she operates. She is rearing goats and sheep and also has a poultry project.
“We are doing fish farming after we turn this area which is a wetland into a small dam. We decided to harvest the water and utilize it instead of complaining that every time it rains the area is flooded. We also have a goat and sheep rearing project where we are doing goat milk and venturing into cheese soon. We also have a roadrunner chicken hatching project,” Gaidzanwa told the Minister of State when she made a surprise visit to her home.
The young farmer has since secured a ready market in the Middle Eastern countries where demand for goat meat is high and is in the process of coming together with other goat farmers, especially women, to meet the demand.
Passionate about women’s emancipation, Gaidzanwa intends to rope in women from Chinhoyi in her fishing business where she will be offering harvested fish to women groups for resale.
Hon Chombo said she was impressed by the enterprise after she had heard about Gaidzanwa’s passion and decided to visit her on a tour of her project.
“I am impressed that this is happening in an urban setup with limited land space where every inch is being utilized productively. This is proof that women can make a difference in the development of our country and here is someone who turned a challenge at her place where it used to flood as it’s near a wetland into something productive,” she said.
“I want you to be a role model to other young women who can transform one’s life. I am impressed by the goat project and hope you can share knowledge and skills with other women. It’s my prayer for you to get a bigger space where you can effectively work on and contribute to the country’s economy,” she said.
Gaidzanwa imported some of the goat breeds from Namibia and has since harvested fish from her backyard dam twice.