Hay bailing project to empower Mutasa small-holder farmers

Community News
Villagers in Mutasa district in Manicaland province have embarked on a hay bailing project.

MUTASA — Villagers in Mutasa district in Manicaland province have embarked on a hay bailing project to enable households to raise money for food, pay medical expenses and school fees for their children.

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Initiated by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), villagers stock grass for pastures stored for future use or sold to farmers in drought-prone provinces, such as the Matabeleland region.

EMA publicity and education officer, Alice Chivese told Standardcommunity that the project was mooted last year during the fire season as an incentive to encourage farmers to construct fireguards.

She said most small-scale farmers had been reluctant to construct fireguards but changed their minds following the introduction of the hay bailing project after realising its benefits.

“It helps farmers to stock-up on their hay for summer because it is the period the pastures are burnt, leaving livestock with nothing to feed on,” said Chivese. “In recent years, some farmers ended up buying stock feed from local white commercial farmers, who do the hay bailing for commercial purposes.”

A bale of hay costs between US$2 and US$3.

The project is being funded under the fire demonstration project grant from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, which is working in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mechanisation Development.

In the absence of machinery to compress and produce a bail, the farmers are being taught how to do it manually.

“Our farmers do not have machinery to produce a bale but we have taught them to use the manual system,” said Chivese. “We load the grass in a drum and compress it. After a while, we remove it in a round-like shape and tie it using some cords.”

She said they preferred grass such as the five-star (wheat-like) and Kikuyu type of grasses (lawn-like grass) which are normally used for feeding livestock.

“Some white commercial farmers have been doing this business for a long time and we feel our small-holder farmers can venture into similar business at a commercial level. At the same time, they will be protecting their fields against arson or natural fires,” she said.

A local small-holder farmer, Jackson Mhara (39), said the project had created employment for the local community as youths in the area had taken up hay bailing at a commercial level.

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