Land reform in Zimbabwe
In the 1990s, Zimbabwe was the grain store of Africa. Production was high, exports flourished and the economy boomed. That all changed in 2000. President Mugabe was set on doing something about the unfair division of agricultural land. At that time, 80% of the farms were owned by white farmers. Mugabe introdu- ced a programme of land reform. White landowners and farmers were violently forced from their land. The farms were then redistributed among friends and family of Mugabe and members of his ZANU-PF party. The majority of these ’new’ farmers were unable to sustain production, and as a result the agricultural section fell into complete disarray. The country is still suffering from a deep financial and political crisis - although there is light at the end of the tunnel. Many people are eagerly awaiting the moment when the 91-year old Mugabe hands over the reins of power.
Chido Govera holding a large, freshly-harvested oyster mushroom: “the best mushroom in the world!”
in the Eastern Highlands, four hours’ drive south of Harare, close to the border with Mozambique. Rodney Nyamutswa (36) lives on the outskirts of the city of Mutare, together with his family. We enjoyed a cup of tea in the living room with his parents, grand-mother and sister. After working as a banker for a while, he decided to turn his hobby into a living. Since making that life switch, he has concentrated fulltime on his farm ‘5 Seasons’.
“I chose mushroom growing as it is a low-thres- hold activity that requires little space and low investment capital”, he says. He gathers most of his information, particularly about oyster mushrooms, from the internet. The theory didn’t appear to be all that complicated initially. “I knew that I needed substrate, spawn and space for a shed. But my first harvest failed”. The bags turned green instead of white, and any mushrooms were few and far between. “But, second time round was a success. It was truly a question of trial and error.” For the time being, he only cultivates grey (Pleurotus pulmonarius) and white oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus florida).
Urban farming The patch of land owned by his parents in Mutare turned out to be a suitable spot to grow oyster mushrooms. “The consumers are mainly city dwellers anyway so I have hardly any transport costs. I didn’t need a lot of space either. I built three sheds of 20 m2 in our garden from wood and
24 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
heavy-duty plastic”. Bags of substrate, made mainly using cottonseed hulls, are suspended or laid in the sheds. “With yields of about 600 kg per month, this is my best year to date”. The kitchen is bursting with packaged oyster mushrooms: fresh, dried and powdered. Rodney currently supplies his produce to a number of supermarkets in Mutare. He thinks that Zimbab- weans still have to get used to cultivated mushrooms. Mushrooms also grow in the wild, and some varieties are poisonous, so people are somewhat cautious. “But I hope to be able to persuade a lot more of the residents of Mutare to start eating mushrooms. They are so healthy and nutritious!”
Despite Rodney’s optimism, his path is not paved with roses. To source his spawn he has to travel all the way to Harare three times a year. “The plan is to make my own spawn eventually. That would save me time and money.” This is something he will have to finance himself, as banks rarely grant loans to small start-ups. This prevents many farmers from being able to rise above subsistence level. Rodney is convinced his plans will succeed as he has done plenty of research, is well-organi- sed and determined to get ahead. In a few years’ time, Rodney wants to move to a farm with more space where he hopes to take his activities to a higher level. He wants to build a spawn laboratory, maturing rooms, a sterilisation room, packaging zone, training facility and, last but not least, an office for his administrative
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