CLIMATE change has led to James North Zimbabwe deriving ways of trapping and keeping water so that farmers could utilise it in various ways of crop harvesting and management to obtain maximum gains.
BY SHARON SIBINDI
Speaking to the Southern Eye marketing manager for James North, Joseph Chiwanza said they had devised new ways farmers could use to harvest water and ways chemical industries, mines, sewer treatment plants could use to prevent spillage of chemicals to the ground.
Chiwanza urged farmers to adopt new ways of trapping water by using James North lining solutions made from the finest grade materials that can be customised to suit specific farmer requirements.
“Our lining products are UV treated and resistant to wide range of chemicals and have extra lining which can be prefabricated in sections and joined on site. The lining is so easy to install and maintain, it suits a vast range of applications,” he said.
Chiwanza said dam lining was one good way a farmer might adopt for water harvesting.
“Dam lining stops water seepage which is the biggest contributor to water losses in a dam thus saving thousands of dollars and retaining precious water for its intended use.
“Looking at the tobacco industry, the farmers can use seed liners, we provide seedbed liners and they are durable to grow tobacco seed on any surface. These liners are used for the float bed system to conserve, allowing it to soak on the top soil thus providing plants with much needed moisture and eliminating water seepages,” he said.
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He said in the irrigation sector, they provide ditch/ canal lining using concrete slabs.
“We provide rapid lining solutions for canals and ditch lining using concrete materials. Our cement impregnated canvas can be rapidly deployed to form a ditch or canal lining in a matter of hours. It is more durable and less expensive to install than convectional concrete and is ideal for irrigation and road rehabilitation,” he said.
James North has offered various products to trap water and some of these include pond lining, tank lining, fish pond lining and many more.
SeedCo extension services manager Ivan Craig expressed similar sentiments on the climate change. He said it was a concern to farmers and urged them adapt to crop harvesting in order to add value to their income.
“Farmers should adapt to value addition as we look at some of their end-products may become low due to the climate change. If we look at maize, there are a lot of things a farmer could do to it to add value.
For example a farmer planting 190 tonnes of SeedCo maize could make maputi from it and sell some of the maize. A farmer could keep chickens and use maize mash to feed them or do piggery and by doing this, this could add value to a farmer than getting nothing at the end of the day. Other maize from SeedCo could be taken to grain marketing boards,” he added.
