Opinion / Columnist
Fresh fruits can be dried and get served at much time later
31 Jul 2024 at 20:44hrs | Views
The last farming season was a fiasco, poor rainfall pattern translating to little or no harvest to write home about. The Elnino weather phenomenon wrecked havoc with crops especially grains, leaving farmers clutching at straws for survival. Bovine herds were decimated by January Disease leading to zero draught power. With no livestock to help till the land and no downpours, farmers left the fields empty handed.
Ironically fruit trees are now decorated with plenty flowers promising bumper pickings. Mango, peach etc are all ladden with lots of colourful blooms that will soon morph into juicy fruits.
Even wild fruits like loquats and snort apples (matohwe) are plenty out there. If taken care of, the fruit galore can help mitigate effects of the devastating drought and grain deficit.
Those in the know should teach our people how to dry fresh fruits for a longer shelf life. Mangoes can be sliced, dried and tucked away for future 'reference' and snacking.
Better still the dried fruit can be taken to the traditional markets for sale. Its quite disheartening to see ripe excess fruit going to worst.
Oftentimes you see piles and heaps of rotting fruits by dumpsites, a betrayal to lack of knowledge on preservation. Government has activated relevant authourities to source grain and distribute countrywide so people can have enough to eat.
Its time to embark on quick turnaround projects like poultry, market gardening and cuniculture (rabbit farming) for that extra dinar. In years gone, communal farmers would give names to the first rains, that era is gone.
Rains are rains, those who planted with the first rains got something for their effort.
Tobacco farmers are busy putting seed in the ground and the Pfumvudza holes are being dug. We hope the Heavens will be generous this season around. If only Chinehasha Irrigation Scheme was up and water gushing out it would have been a different story.
Ironically fruit trees are now decorated with plenty flowers promising bumper pickings. Mango, peach etc are all ladden with lots of colourful blooms that will soon morph into juicy fruits.
Even wild fruits like loquats and snort apples (matohwe) are plenty out there. If taken care of, the fruit galore can help mitigate effects of the devastating drought and grain deficit.
Those in the know should teach our people how to dry fresh fruits for a longer shelf life. Mangoes can be sliced, dried and tucked away for future 'reference' and snacking.
Better still the dried fruit can be taken to the traditional markets for sale. Its quite disheartening to see ripe excess fruit going to worst.
Its time to embark on quick turnaround projects like poultry, market gardening and cuniculture (rabbit farming) for that extra dinar. In years gone, communal farmers would give names to the first rains, that era is gone.
Rains are rains, those who planted with the first rains got something for their effort.
Tobacco farmers are busy putting seed in the ground and the Pfumvudza holes are being dug. We hope the Heavens will be generous this season around. If only Chinehasha Irrigation Scheme was up and water gushing out it would have been a different story.
Source - Thomas Murisa Chinehasha
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