Minas Gerais exports technologies for cotton farming in Zimbabwe

Technical assistance and mining technologies are being exported to Zimbabwe, Africa, to develop the country's cotton production, especially from small-scale farmers. The exchange of knowledge is part of the Cooperation Mission between Brazil and Zimbabwe, coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).

The Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of MG (Emater-MG), as well as the State Agricultural Research Company (Epamig), linked to the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, participate in the mission, which began in 2018. Representatives of the two state companies have already been to Zimbabwe for a technical visit and diagnosis of the culture there, and between the 6th and 17th of March a delegation from the African country, made up of technicians, researchers, government representatives and local farmers is passing through Brazil. In Minas Gerais, they visit cotton planting areas, especially in the North of Minas, characterized by being developed by family farmers and having seen an important recovery in production in recent years. They end the trip in Uberlândia, headquarters of the Minas Gerais Association of Cotton Producers (Amipa).

The Zimbabwean delegation was received at the headquarters of Emater-MG, in Belo Horizonte, accompanied by the representative of the Zimbabwean consulate in Brazil, Rutendo Faith Sagwerte. She highlighted that this partnership between Brazil and the African country is a way of improving the lives of the population of that country, through a political act, with actions that are not just on paper, but are tangible.

“It is a way of translating a very strong bilateral relationship between countries, into socioeconomic development in both countries. But Zimbabwe is very grateful for this help that Brazil offers, to show small producers in Zimbabwe how to improve productivity. We also discussed the importance of expanding the work that has been done in the cotton sector to other areas, such as livestock and pasture recovery,” he said. Sagwete. She also highlighted that Zimbabwe feels “indebted” to Brazil for choosing to help the country specifically, across the African continent.

The Cooperation Mission is investing a total of US$1,2 million in Zimbabwe. The resources have already been applied to the installation of two Technical Demonstration Units (UTD) at the Cotton Research Center, in the city of Kadoma, where the adaptability of cotton varieties, both Brazilian and Zimbabwean, are being tested; another UTD in Gokwe, in a Community Center. The project also includes the purchase of equipment and inputs for Zimbabwe, as well as training and technical visits. ABC project analyst Mellissa Popoff Scheidemantel, who coordinates the mission, reinforces that there is always an exchange of knowledge between the two parties. “It’s a two-way street and it’s always mutual learning,” she says.

Emater-MG has participated in the project since the beginning, comments the company's culture coordinator, Sérgio Brás Regina. According to him, cotton productivity in Zimbabwe is still very low, at around 600 kilograms per hectare of cotton. “We believe that with the little intervention we have done, from a technological point of view, good planting practices and farming management, we will be able to at least double this productivity in a short time. And we are paying attention to productivity at a good cost, beneficial to producers and also respectful of the environment”, he emphasizes.

According to Regina, Minas Gerais has a very advanced, corporate cotton industry, which harvests more than 200 arrobas per hectare, in addition to the resumption of family cotton farming, in regions such as the Jequitinhonha Valley and North of Minas. According to the coordinator, this return to cotton production by smaller farmers was possible thanks to research and technical assistance, which allowed the state to cope with the boll weevil pest, the biggest cotton pest in the world. He also remembers that Brazil and Zimbabwe have many similarities in terms of climate and a significant number of small-scale cotton producers. “What we seek with this project, as Emater, is to change the lives of people, of families who live in this culture”, he concludes.

Tracey Maposa is a family farmer from Zimbabwe and participates in the delegation here in Brazil. She says that she is a widowed woman and that she is doing very well with cotton production, better than the average farmer. In addition to cotton, Maposa also produces poultry to supplement his income. “I am very happy to be in Brazil, this has made my work with cotton production viable. I am very grateful to the government of Zimbabwe for choosing me and to Brazil too”, she adds.