Promoting mechanized farming technologies in Mbire and Murewa through the Agroecology Fairs
cgiar JAN 7 2025
As part of the CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology, the Feed the Future Zimbabwe Mechanization and Extension activity participated in the 2024 Agroecology Fairs held in Murewa and Mbire districts on September 25 and October 17, respectively. The events provided an invaluable platform to collaborate with the initiative and showcase different scaling pathways for mechanization within the context of sustainable, efficient farming.
At the Mechanization and Extension activity’s exhibition stand, visitors explored an array of machinery specifically tailored to small-scale farming needs. Among the featured equipment were the basin digger, two-wheel tractor, multi-crop thresher, chopper grinder, trailer, and peanut butter processing machines, including a groundnut sheller, peanut roaster, and peanut butter-making machine. Each piece of equipment was carefully selected to align with existing activities within the initiative and to demonstrate practical solutions for improving labor efficiency and enhancing crop productivity that could be needed during agroecology transitions.
The basin digger, in particular, drew significant attention, especially from farmers either encountering it for the first time or wanting to know more about how they could become service providers. Designed for creating basins such as those established under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation agriculture program, the basin digger was showcased as significantly reducing labor and time in land preparation, especially for those with limited access to manual labor.
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