RE-INTRODUCING BUCKWHEAT FARMING IN ZIMBABWE

Mr Pardon Mugari

Do you know this crop called BUCKWHEAT?

It used to be in Zimbabwe in the early 80s. By the early 90s it had gone extinct for some mysterious reasons? Those who remember the crop (bhakawiti, in Shona) recall how the grain flour was used to bake some special homemade bread, especially in Manicaland.

You will also remember how easy to grow was the crop, which farmers would just plant in the late season after removing early maize or ground nuts? No need for fertilizer or insecticides. No need for weeding because it overgrows and kills weeds. Now this crop is on the upward spiral worldwide due to its unprecedented high nutritional value.

Here is the good news!!

Five years ago, Pardon Mugari, who knew about buckwheat from childhood experience, stumbled upon a handful of buckwheat grains which his mother's sister, Sevi Mutanda, had preserved for over 20 years in

her handbag. Pardon, with great excitement, took the precious buckwheat grains to his farm and started reproducing the crop. The man passionate about rare crops breeding and reproduction. The first cycle was quite successful coming up with about 800g of grain yield from a small bed in the garden.

The second cycle was a dismal failure because all the planted crop was wiped out by frost because the inexperienced farmer had forgotten that buckwheat was neither a wheat nor a grass, and planting it in winter was a high risk. However, the resilient farmer had preserved a few grains when he planted the second cycle (Good farmers never cast all precious seed into the ground!). Pardon had to start all over again on a small garden mulch bed! To cut the long story short, by 2021 Pardon had accrued over one tonne of buckwheat grain which increased to ten tonnes in 202/2023 cropping season. This was achieved in a period of about five years.