DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

PROVINCES

Functions

Head Office

Research Stations

Provinces

MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE

The Provincial office is based in Bindura and its 7 District offices based at District Administration

MANDATE

To carry out regulatory e.g. fuel distribution, advisory, technical services, farmer training, dissemination of technologies, managing and advising on biodiversity.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMMES

• Recruiting and training Master Farmers

• Recruiting new staff and in-service training

• Conducting crops field days

• Monitoring Command Agriculture Provincial targets

• Carry out demonstration plots on tobacco, maize new varieties, cotton weed

• management and pest control, limed and non-limed field etc.

• Open Pollinated seed maize production under Zunde raMambo plots and

• commercial maize production for the disadvantaged.

• Strengthening Research and Extension Linkages through workshops and

• competitions, shows, field days etc.

• Conducting Technology and Seed Fairs at district and provincial levels.

• Audit of land utilization plot by plot for planning purposes.

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS AND MANDATE

• Staff Training:  Recruiting school leavers from all rural wards, train them through apprentice programme and deploy to those wards with no staff for them to train farmers.

• Supply of bicycles to field extension workers to improve mobility.

• Use of farmers clusters to easy in information dissemination and distribution of fuel.

• Use of field days, shows, seed fairs, Zunde RaMambo plots etc.

• Individual visits to a small extent has contributed to dissemination of technologies.

• Use of fact sheets, advisory notes, handouts etc. is a good strategy being used to the literate group of farmers.

• Look and learn tours when resources are available are a good strategy especially when starting new projects e.g gardening, small irrigation schemes etc.

• Master Farmer training has contributed a lot to knowledge transfer rendering it a good strategy.

• Farmer field schools is a good strategy in use in the province.

• COMMAND AGRICULTURE approach where farmers are given minimum targets is a strategy to achieve our provincial targets for each crop grown.

SPECIALISED PROGRAMMES IN THE PROVINCE

• Training farmers in mushroom production

• Training farmers in maize seed production

• Producing cash flows and crop budgets for farmers

• Horticulture training especially at irrigation schemes

• Training in tobacco, wheat, potatoes, soyabeans, citrus, cotton.

• Managing trials and demonstration on Cimmty trials, Tobacco Research Board trials etc.

STATISTICS ON MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE

• Size:  2834500 hectares

• Natural Regions:

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MAJOR FARMING SYSTEMS

Total arable area for the province is 850 350 hectares.  37% of this area lies in natural region four which receives rainfall that is less than 650mm during the rain season.  Only 536672,6 ha that is 63% of total arable is in natural region 2 and 3 which is suitable for intensive and semi intensive agriculture in the province.

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT

Communal Area Functional Irrigation Schemes is 64,5 ha with 613 irrigators.  Communal area schemes under implementation is 192 ha.  Communal area shemes that can be developed is 4715 ha.  Schemes under Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) is 1 000 ha.  Potential area that can be developed under irrigation in the whole province is 36 311 ha and currently only 17 000 ha is ready to be irrigated.

CROPS THAT CAN BE GROWN IN MASHONALAND CENTRAL

Maize, wheat, potatoes, soyabeans, fruits and vegetables, bananas, groundnuts, sorghum/millet, barley, sugarcane, citrus, tobacco, cotton, paprika, flowers, sweet potatoes and field beans.  All forms of livestock production can be undertaken in a mixed system.

AREX MASHONALAND EAST

Mashonaland East has a total land area of 3 222 300 hectares which comprise of four Natural Regions – IIa, IIb, III and IV.  The province is divided into 9 districts namely, Chikomba, Goromonzi, Hwedza, Marondera, Mudzi, Murehwa, Mutoko, UMP and Seke.  The province is a major cropping and livestock production area.Mashonaland East is currently serviced by 534 extension agents

The Natural Region areas are as follows:-

MASHONALAND EAST POTENTIAL ARABLE HECTARAGE 

 The potential area is the area that can be put under crops under optimum conditions, taking into consideration issues such as availability of inputs and rotational limitations amongst others.

 MAIN ENTERPRISES

MAIZE

TOBACCO

PAPRIKA

GROUNDNUTS

SUNFLOWER

COTTON

LIVESTOCK (BEEF, DAIRY AND SMALL STOCK)

HORTICULTURE (LEAFY VEGETABLES, TOMATOES, ONIONS, PEAS etc)

FLORICULTURE