BY Munyaradzi Blessing Doma

Commercial farmer Charles Nyandoro, popularly known as Sahwira, has urged farmers to be hands-on in their operations, saying close supervision and attention to detail are key to good yields and profits.

Sahwira, who started his own farming business in 2024, said farmers should closely monitor their crops from planting to harvesting and ensure that inputs are applied correctly.

He was speaking at the Seed Co Arcturus Winter Field Day held at his farm on Wednesday, where he shared his farming experience with other farmers.

“You need to adhere to detail, that’s the secret. You need to be there. Whenever they are spraying, you should be there. When they are applying fertiliser, you need to be there and use the correct measurements. You also need to write notes on what you will be doing,” said Sahwira.

He urged farmers to follow up on their crops throughout the season, warning that poor supervision could affect production.

“Follow up until the end of the season. If you don’t follow up, things will just fall apart,” he said.

Sahwira also encouraged farmers to conduct soil sampling to determine the nutrients required by their soils and avoid losses caused by inappropriate fertiliser application.

“If you do it properly, things will tick, crops will grow nicely and give you profit,” he said.

Despite starting his own farming business only two years ago, Sahwira said he had recorded success with the crops he had grown, which he attributed to close supervision and proper farming practices.

He supplies produce to local supermarkets, hotels and farmers’ markets, while his cabbages have also found a market in Mozambique.

Sahwira started his career as a Production Manager before venturing into his own farming business, beginning with kitchen herbs such as celery, parsley and coriander.

“At that time, I was growing kitchen herbs like celery, parsley and coriander, and I was getting an income of about US$2 000 per week.

“That inspired me to expand my farming programme. I then started growing cabbages and had a good income. I managed to get 20 000 per hectare, and that further inspired me to start growing potatoes,” he said.

His first potato production venture covered 3.5 hectares and enabled him to buy a 95-horsepower tractor, a potato ridger, a potato lifter and other farming implements.

“This was continuously inspiring me to work hard so that I could buy more and more implements and expand my farming business,” he said.

Sahwira has since expanded his potato production to 10.5 hectares and is expecting strong demand during the Christmas season.

He said he had invested US$100 000 in his current potato production programme and was targeting revenue of about US$250 000 if he achieves a good harvest and favourable market prices.

“In three to four months’ time, I will be harvesting my potatoes and selling them during Christmas time. If the prices are good, I definitely expect to get that US$250 000,” he said.

He also expects to generate between US$10 000 and US$15 000 from vegetables including carrots, peas and onions.

Sahwira said most of his customers buy directly from the farm and pay cash.

Meanwhile, Professor Gary Burnsike, Assistant Director for Programme Development at Purdue University in the United States, praised Sahwira’s farming achievements.

“I’m very impressed with Charles. Charles is a really good farmer. We need to recognise the beautiful harvest he has and the demonstration of these beautiful onions that are here for you to see,” said Burnsike.