Photo: Supplied
As a second-generation farmer, Tobias Musariri from Chegutu, about 100 kilometres southwest of Harare, credits the Zimmatic centre pivots for his success in cultivating 100 seed hectares of seed production for local seed houses, as well as 400 hectares of commercial maize on his Kwamasita Farm.
“This is a second-generation farm. It was founded by my late father, Tobias Musariri senior, in 1979, after retiring from the motoring industry. I continued with the farm when he passed away in 2012,” Musariri explains.
“When he initially purchased the land, there was absolutely nothing on the farm, except for one little building that was made of asbestos, but that was it. So, we built it from the ground up.”
Clearing the land took them a couple of years.
“We sunk some boreholes and started using a system with aluminium pipes for irrigation. Initially, we put 20 hectares under irrigation,” he elaborates.
Aluminium pipes had to be moved every four to six hours, depending on the crop, he recalls.
“We must have done that for about 25 years,” says Musariri.
“As we expanded our fields, we relied on this form of irrigation, because that was what we could afford at the time. But if you do not attach the rubbers correctly, it will not irrigate properly. We would get in trouble for over-irrigating certain areas and wasting electricity and water.”
Fast forward to today, the successful farm has 12 pivots that cover a total of 500 hectares under irrigation.
“We have started changing our control panels to the 700 series. A part of this process is setting them up on FieldNET to ensure all our pivots can be remotely controlled and monitored,” says Musariri.
“Technology has influenced our irrigation decisions greatly. Our pivots are all communicating with us, and we are busy linking them up to a central farming system.”
The farm’s main source of water is the Mfure dam and boreholes.
“I would recommend Zimmatic pivots to other farmers because it is more than just a product, you also receive guidance on the various opportunities you could be maximising on your farm. You are also advised on how to best use the Zimmatic equipment, which is a plus. With advancements in technology, I think as a farmer you want to try and stay on top of new trends that will really be efficient and allow you to scale up,” Musariri added.
To find your closest Zimmatic dealer or request a quote, visit www.lindsay.com. Talk to Tanya Brits on +27(0)21-986-8900 or e-mail to [email protected] to learn more about the benefits of Zimmatic centre pivot technology.
