A GRAPE and strawberry farmer in Chongwe has broken record for being the first in the area to grow the fruits as his cash crops.
Mr Stolo Phiri a former truck driver said he began to experiment on grape and strawberry farming in 1999 with his friend from Israel who helped him with the process.
Mr. Phiri said he started with one seed of each fruit and before he knew it, he had enough to plant hundred plants.
He said this after two Solidaridad Network regional managing directors, one from Southern Africa and the other from Europe paid him a visit at his farm in Chongwe town.
“When I started people told me grapes and strawberries cannot grow in Chongwe because the plants require specific temperature to germinate but my friend from Israel who I had worked for on his farm told me these plants can grow anywhere with the right knowledge,” Mr. Phiri said
Mr Phiri said with the help of Solidaridad he hoped to acquire more knowledge on how to grow the plants.
“Grapes are not easy to grow so I’m still absorbing as much knowledge as I can and I’m thankful to Solidaridad for linking me to the right people and the right knowledge, “he said
He explained that grape seedlings took 20 to 25 days to germinate but that the quickest way to go round that problem was through inserting them in an Irish potato.
He said that Trade Kings has already given him an order if he could harvest the quality of strawberries and grapes they wanted.
And Solidaridad Fruit and Veggie officer Vincent Mofya said he had been giving Mr. Phiri the much needed skills on the plants
“I’m happy with Mr. Phiri because he has a passion for what his doing and as Solidaridad we will continue to give him the support he needs,” Mr Mofya said
Meanwhile Solidaridad Southern Africa managing director based in South Africa, Mandla Nkomo said he would try to work with Mr. Phiri to see how he could propagate the plants to the larger extent so that they could be available to those interested in farming them.
