WILBERT Kahari (37) stands at the small dam wall as he marvels at small fish jostling to eat the pellets.
The dam, a stone's throw away from his farmhouse, has become his favourite spot.
It has been a few months now since he bought 133 000 tilapia mixed sex breed fingerlings to embark on a fish farming project.
Kahari's farming journey has not been easy, as he credits the presidential agriculture schemes that have changed the lives of young farmers across the country.
NewsDay Weekender visited Kahari's 10-hectare piece of land near Steyn Farm, along Igava Road, about 15km from the farming town of Marondera, where he chronicles how he got into farming.
“I am a beneficiary of the land reform programme and only got land about five years ago under the youth quota. It was a dream come true," Kahari recalled.
After securing the land, the farmer was privileged to receive a tractor under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s presidential agriculture scheme.
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“The gods smiled on me that season. I got a tractor under the presidential agriculture scheme and work began. As if that was not enough, four boreholes were drilled at my farm under the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme for me to venture into horticulture,” Kahari said.
The farmer, however, narrated how he began his journey into fish farming.
"I started constructing this dam using the tractor. It was like a joke, but I knew what I was doing. One of the boreholes feeds water into the dam before channelling it back to the fields for a horticulture project," said Kahari.
"I bought 133 000 tilapia fingerlings from a Bindura-based farmer and threw them here. The fish will be ready by September. I bought the mixed sex breed so that they multiply. I dream that from September, I will be parcelling out free fingerlings to youths in Marondera District so that they start their fish farming projects."
He added: "After constructing this dam using just a tractor, I am supplying water to it using a borehole to maintain water levels."
Kahari is a shining example of youthful innovation and determination in farming.
Hailing from a humble background, he has transformed his life and community through the farming endeavours, made possible by the presidential agriculture schemes.
“I want to be better for myself and other youths. By September, I will be launching the Fish Pass On Scheme so that others benefit and engage in fish farming projects to uplift themselves,” he said.
At his 10ha farm, Kahari, who is also into horticulture farming, employs nine youths. Four of the youths are female.
He has also dedicated a small portion to Pfumvudza maize production.
“I do support my government in implementing the Pfumvudza maize programme. This season, I harvested 8 tonnes from the seven Pfumvudza plots."
As a way of assisting fellow youths from drug and substance abuse in the area, Kahari now owns two snooker clubs and a soccer team.
The snooker clubs are all participating in the MDPA Division 1 Marondera pool league.
