Marondera-based youthful farmer, Tafadzwa Shasha Jim, has urged youths in farming to continue persevering in farming despite challenges they may face along the way.
Speaking to journalists during a tour of his plot by officials from Agriculture ministry in Marondera East constituency recently, Jim dedicated his farming success to his late father who nurtured him in the business.
"My late father was a farmer so I guess I took after him.
"I had passion in farming since at a very tender age," he said.
"After high school I did nothing other than farming so it became my source of income, I had to work hard on the farm to look after my siblings. It was not easy."
The youthful farmer currently boasts of 6ha under tobacco and 8ha under maize.
"I avoid putting my eggs in one basket, hence I plant a variety of crops so that if one fails the other will do well," he said.
"I do not plant my crops at once. They have a space of weeks or a month.
I make sure that my employees are happy. If I do not satisfy them then they will not execute their duties or rather they will steal from me.
"I also make sure I have my herbicides and pesticides always. I choose my seeds with caution and from good sources. I always store my inputs before the next season, that is very important."
Jim said he requires more land so that he can fully exploit his farming prowess.
"The greatest challenge I have is land. I own 6ha only, I have to rent from others, it is a bit expensive to rent," said Jim.
"I also have to rent irrigation facilities, so funds to rent all those lands is a challenge as well. Moreover, I have to ferry labourers 10km away from my plot, this means I need extra fuel to ferry them to and from the farm everyday.
"The other challenge is that some labourers refuse to be paid after selling my produce, most of them need to be paid daily if not weekly."
Despite these setbacks, Jim said youths in farming should be vigilant and remain determined before enjoying the fruits of their labour.
"To other youths in farming, be dedicated and focused, farming is like gambling you can win or lose. If you lose do not despair, for we fall and rise again.
"As I said earlier always have adequate inputs in time. Moreover, they should look for market early before producing to avoid unnecesary loses."
