The lives of thousands of rural Mutale learners could soon change for the better. This is after the Department of Agriculture in Mutale, in partnership with an NGO, Save the Children UK, handed over hundreds of water pipes for drip irrigation to impoverished schools in the area on Friday.

The drips were divided amongst identified disadvantaged schools in the area. The function took place at Niani Circuit, the former Tshipise Youth Centre in Mutale.

The coordinator of the project, Azwihangwisi Ramaswiela, said they realized that more and more elderly people who were engaged in agriculture were fast becoming inactive and there were no other farmers filling in their space. “This is a source of much concern in the country as we will soon find ourselves without food, because there will be no farmers in our areas. We are making a succession plan, so that more and more young people will be encouraged to take up agriculture at an early age. One way of encouraging learners is to encourage them to start early in agriculture and this will only be possible through adequate resources at schools.”

Ramaswiela said many young people think that most agricultural products are manufactured in factories and not produced on farms. “We have to make them aware that food is produced from the soil and that not all of them should aim for work in offices or big companies in the city but to become involved in the production of food through agriculture,” she said.

Ramaswiela said as a way of encouraging young farmers, they had started a competition with lots and lots of cash prizes to be won. “We would like to see more and more young people involved in agriculture and we hope the competition will encourage them to be involved in agriculture,” she said.

In accepting the drips on behalf of the schools, the circuit manager at Niani, Mr Shumani Ravhuanzwo, said that even though the department was trying its best to improve the learning environment, it could not supply everything at all schools at the same time. He said it was through a concerted effort by private, non-governmental, and interdepartmental collaboration that schools could benefit. “We are not alone in making a better environment for the child but will always accept all help from any quarter. The desire develops here at school and we could soon be seeing a new breed of educated farmers in our communities. Let us all support these children and our country will be a better place to live in, with plenty of food for everyone,” he said.

Madifha Primary School, one of the primary schools in the most rural Zwigodini village in Mutale, also benefitted from the donation. The school, which started in 1982, has more than 200 learners this year. The school has a borehole but did not have drips to water the greenery project and learners had to use buckets for watering their vegetables. This meant that a lot of water was used. The principal of the school, Ms Irene Tshikombedze, said the drips came at the right time when more and more learners were showing interest in the greenery project. “Many of our learners are showing interest in our project and they are participating in their numbers,” she said.

“We have a feeding scheme at the school. We used to buy some of the vegetables from outside. This donation means a lot of savings for our school, and we would also sell some surplus to the community at very affordable prices,” she said.