An extension methodologist in Mufumbwe under the department of agriculture says the rainfall pattern and the type of soils make the district ideal for growing most cash crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts and wheat.
Stephen Mulenga said Mufumbwe is located in region three of the agro-ecological zone which enables the area to reactive rainfall amounting between 1,000 millimetres to 1,500 millimetres per annum.
Mr Mulenga said the prolonged season makes it conducive for growing a number of cash crops in their different varieties in the district.
“Apart from our major crop which is maize, we can also do other cash crops like soya beans, wheat, beans and groundnuts. We can do early, medium and late maturity varieties in Mufumbwe due to this late withdraw of rains. Actually, Mufumbwe produces a lot of groundnuts”, Mr Mulenga said.
He said the good rainfall pattern is coupled with the sand-roamy-soils in Mufumbwe which accommodate the good performance of different cash crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts, wheat and even sugar cane.
“We need to have enterprises which tend to support each other at the farm, which means if maize fails to do well, a farmer can survive from crops like beans, groundnuts, this is because the soils can accommodate crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts and wheat”, Mr Mulenga said.
Mr Mulenga was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in relation to a Women and Youth Farmer Input Empowerment Programme, which was recently piloted in Mufumbwe’s Shukwe and Kalengwa wards by the Business Development Centre (BDC), a business oriented non-governmental organization.
Meanwhile, Mr Mulenga has commended BDC for expressing interest in supplementing government efforts in the supply of inputs to farmers in Mufumbwe district.
“The interest in the production of beans by BDC is indeed a commendable initiative. In fact, BDC can also be assured that investment in crops like groundnuts, soya beans and wheat in Mufumbwe cannot fail due to the good rainfall pattern and soil type in the district”, he said.
Mr Mulenga has since implored the BDC to consider extending the empowerment programme to other parts of the district so that more farmers can benefit.
That is good news which the local population and commercial farmers should take advantage and take up the challenge. This country is very rich except that we have set our priorities upside down. The next govt should market Mufumbwe as a new commercial farming area which can contribute to the national food basket.