More than just compost at Manicaland Station

04 April 2011

Former Zimbabwean commercial farmers, Darryl and Hazel Edwards, are well known in agricultural circles for their knowledge and expertise on compost. But the Foundations for Farming station they have established in Juliusdale in the Eastern Highlands has more going on than that.

The couple started the station in May 2009, having been involved with Foundations for Farming since two years earlier. The station was established on their 33 hectare farm which until then was operating as a commercial flower farm.

”But then God told us to stop growing flowers and to do training instead. This took a huge leap of faith because we had no idea where our funding would come from,” the two recalled.

”It was only in May 2010 that we got some funding through the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Up until that point, we lived month by month, training where we could with whatever God supplied. It was an amazing growing period for us, both in our faith and understanding of God’s sufficiency,” they added.

Darryl and Hazel’s passion clearly revolves around compost and they feel that God has already used them to spread its knowledge and use around the nation and beyond.

”Our primary vision is to do further research into composting to investigate other locally grown ingredients, especially weeds and problem plants, which would enhance the fertility content of the compost,” they said.

But besides compost, the station they have established at Juliusdale also has a herb garden which, it is anticipated, will expand. The couple hope it will become a major production centre of dry herbs for medicinal uses in the future.

In addition, trial plots similar to those at Foundations for Farming’s Centre of Excellence in Harare have also been replicated. This season, one hectare of maize, one hectare of potatoes as well as 1/8 hectare of sunflowers were planted on the station’s six hectares of arable land. A rabbit project was recently embarked on and oats will be planted during the winter months.

With all this activity happening at the station, Darryl and Hazel never-the-less still manage to keep enough attention focused on compost.

”Compost and worms are obviously very important to us, and we are continually experimenting with different things in those lines,” they said.

The two are also involved in conducting Foundations for Farming training in eight communities around near-by Nyanga. In the last year, they have also had to concentrate on training Government agricultural staff, known as agritex workers, as part of the programme funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

”We feel it is vitally important to train these extension workers as they have incredible influence within the communities they live,” noted Darryl.

He and his wife would be the first to admit that training off-site as well as managing the work at the Juliusdale station requires some juggling. However, it is possible because of God’s grace and the dedication of their 15 employees, four of whom are full-time trainers.

”God has fast tracked us over the last five years since we were saved. We have had so many incredibly faith building experiences. He has broken us and built us up again, and has given us new abilities and passions which we never had before,” they said in conclusion.