Free Will For Urban Farmers
2 min read
Sallomy Matare
Nothing brings more joy than one medicine that cures many ailments, Zimbabwe Peri-Urban Farmer Development Trust comes as an elixir to many social ailments such as wetlands invasion, land barons, poverty, hunger only to mention a few plagues that have hit Urban Cities.
Zimbabwe Peri-Urban Farmer Development trust represents all urban farmers who practice farming on council owned spaces.
Urban dwellers have been at loggerheads with local authorities because of illegal farming on roadsides, backyards and any open space.
The Chairperson of the Peri-Urban Farmer Development Mr Jabulani Mbetu, during the launch of the Trust in Harare today said, they liaise with District officers to allocate pieces of land to urbanites who are affiliated with the trust, this helps in regularising and legalising urban farming .
“The District Officers are the ones who allocates land to us so all our members have legal protection”.
The Development Trust also works as an elixir to invasion of land by land barons who had become a social nuisance and a threat to wetlands.
Through the Trust Peri-Urban farmers will have ownership of the pieces of land up until the council decides to take back the land for other use.
Also speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Hon Douglas Karoro applauded the initiative and vowed to avail pfumvudza inputs to urban farmers through the association.
He urged the Trust’s executive members to leave no one behind.
“Involve those elderly people in our society find a way to help them make sure no one is left behind.”
The Trust prioritise the most unprivileged families in urban areas.
The initiative is targeted eradicating poverty and making urbanites self sustaining, to away with donor dependency as well.
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