Moringa farmers in Kalabo call for technical support

Moringa farmers in Ndoka ward of Kalabo district, Western province, have called for technical support in a bid to plant the shrub at a large scale.

One of the farmers Ngebe Muyombo says the plant’s survival rate has been very low because of the poor management practices resulting in low yields.

Ms Muyombo told ZANIS that lack of technical knowledge has resulted in her only managing to raise a few shrubs around the homestead despite the plant’s huge economic demand and nutritional value available on the market.

She said the limited information on the management and processing of the moringa plant has made the farmers to grow only for subsistence, catering for home consumption

“Every part of the moringa plant is suitable for either commercial or nutritional purposes. These few moringa plants which have survived were provided to us in 2018 by a Non-Governmental Organisation called People In Need (PIN) free of charge so that we improve our social-economic wellbeing.

We only received limited training in basic management and uses of the plant. But due to lack of detailed technical knowledge as well as capacity building in terms of management, expansion and processing, we’re still cultivating the plant at a subsistence level with the harvest only catering for home consumption,” she said.

Meanwhile, another farmer Moya Ndopu, observed that moringa is an effective remedy for malnutrition and other common illnesses.

Ms Ndopu said the plant’s pods and leaves are  potent in vitamins as well as minerals which are essential for the optimum growth of both human beings and livestock.

Ms Ndopu explained that the plant’s pods provide her household with delicious beans while the leaves are a good source of vegetables.

“The nutritional benefits of moringa are amazing. By consuming moringa, my family is now healthy and no longer suffers from eye diseases, diarrhoea and other illnesses which used to be common among household members. I have also learnt that this plant enhances cognitive development especially among children,” she noted.

Ms Ndopu however bemoaned that despite the plants attaining maturity, the yields have always been low due to poor management among farmers in the area.

She further implored fellow farmers and households to seize moringa’s nutritional or commercial benefits, seek technical support and plant it at a large scale or subsistence level depending on one’s capacity.