Farmer's Diary with Sheuneni Kurasha

Goat farming can be a fulfilling business exercise https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/goat-farming-can-be-a-fulfilling-business-exercise?fbclid=IwAR3ubuHs3q3Jqg45C7FQ7N2ZNYQAfl1n1Xnzl9u1P2-OGF5fak-O_XbUoZA Farmer’s Diary with Sheuneni Kurasha 7 April 2019 Welcome dear reader to our column where we explore all things farming. This week we focus on goat farming as a business like I promised last week. I am thrilled with the feedback received from many of our readers expressing their desire to venture into goat farming. In this instalment we explore how to determine the best breed or crossbreeds for a farming enterprise and the importance of a selecting quality bucks and does to ensure genetics superiority and hybrid vigour in a breeding programme. One of the very first decisions a farmer has to make when venturing into goat farming as a business is which breed or crosses of breeds to produce and why. This is crucial because various breeds have different traits, tha...

Best model to start as a farmer https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/best-model-to-start-as-a-farmer?fbclid=IwAR0DTlr9SHHTEjnaFJGVEjMMdD6Rj24oqlbyL1eFznaabUdFlC-CD-gLJf8 Farmer’s Diary with Sheuneni Kurasha 31 March 2019 Welcome dear reader to our column where we explore all things farming. I am grateful to many budding and aspiring farmers who have been in touch, expressing their desire to become successful farmers. Let us continue in this spirit. Zimbabwe needs as many farmers in order to ensure food insecurity and a well-nourished population that contribute to economic development. This week we tackle the business side of farming, that is, what does one need to consider in terms of the business model to follow, the specific farming activities to undertake and understanding the market and marketing dynamics. It is important to understand that farming is a business like any other and as such, one needs to be clear from the outset on the model of farming they w...

Farmers are risk-takers, people of action https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/farmers-are-risk-takers-people-of-action?fbclid=IwAR3GZzbheQyKwHXtJPAOlsXAXLZf_SerGKUfqzTkH2sDD7T70dkTCpp4Lng Farmer’s Diary with Sheuneni Kurasha 24 March 2019 Welcome dear reader to our column where we explore all things farming. In our inaugural instalment last week we argued for policy measures to be put in place to incentivise and support young people to go into farming. The burgeoning youthful population against the waning employment opportunities elsewhere in the economy as well as the reality of an aging population among farmers were cited as some of the reasons for this proposition. I was inundated with responses from all over the country and beyond, most of which appreciated the case for young people to go into farming. There was consensus in the feedback that government should support young people with interest in farming by providing initial capital and land. A number of the read...

Let’s make farming attractive to the youths s https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/lets-make-farming-attractive-to-youths?fbclid=IwAR0VbeIYjqcSRYjmOtXEyUPnRmrepQ0hoJQiRx8L_3ce2RYQmLCWTQbsPMs Farmer’s Diary with Sheuneni Kurasha 17 March 2019 I welcome you dear reader to this inaugural instalment of our weekly column, Farmer’s Diary . We will be exploring all things farming. The purpose is to share knowledge and exchange experiences on farming and help each other to be more efficient and productive farmers. After all, “kugara nhaka kuona dzevamwe” (we become better by observing how others do things). When I decided to go into commercial farming as a young professional, seven years back, I did not just have the task of convincing my spouse that I was going into a noble business. I equally had to face a barrage of questions from many of my friends and colleagues who were sceptical if I had made the right decision to consider farming as a business. Seven years on, my wife has not ...

Leadership reflections 2017 Time: More than money by Sheuneni Kurasha 3 January 2017 The ability to manage time effectively is one of the major differences between successful and unsuccessful people. Time is a resource that is available to all in equal proportion – no one has 72 hours in a day, we all have 24 hours each day. The difference is what we do with that time. Time management is crucial because we don’t live forever – our lives are shorter than we think and wish for. We therefore, should make optimum use of our time. Back in 1748, one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin coined the maxim that “time is money” in an essay titled Advice to a Young Tradesman. My own experience has taught me that time is in fact more than money. As a Zimbabwean who stays in in Namibia, I have to visit home occasionally to monitor my projects and attend to other social obligations. When I come home, the most precious and yet scarce thing I have to deal with i...

Leadership reflections by Sheuneni Kurasha Monday 2 January 2017 The law of magnetism In my mother language, Shona, we have a saying that "dzinofura nzivani," losely translating that those (cattle) of like habit graze together. People who possess similar habits tend to be naturally attracted to each other. Rotten meat invariably attracts flies. If you want to attract quality, make sure you possess and exude quality. As John C. Maxwell puts it: "Who you are is who you attract." This is applicable in all kind of situations and relationships. You can choose who and what you want to be. It all begins in the mind: inside-out. Remember you're a sum total of what you read, watch, do, say etc. You have the power to decide who you want to be. As the Bible says in Philippians 4vs13 (ESV); "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." May the Lord help you to become the kind of person you desire to attract.