Before the Covid-19 pandemic, war veteran and farmer Cde Fellow Chivhenge was running a thriving strawberry project at his farm in Guruve.
He had a lucrative market for his produce around Mvurwi and Harare. At the peak of his business, Cde Chivhenge was supplying about 30kg of strawberries daily.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic came by and like many other businesses; Cde Chivhenge's strawberry enterprise was negatively affected.
The launch of the Presidential War Veteran Fund has reignited Cde Chivhenge's drive to revive his strawberry enterprise.
Cde Chivhenge recently spoke to The Herald and could not hide his joy about the new empowerment initiative.
"Before the pandemic, I was running a thriving horticulture business, supplying more than 30kg of strawberries daily. However, during the lockdown, we were driven out of business because strawberries are perishable," he said.
"I appreciate what the President has done for us as war veterans through the Presidential War Veterans Fund, the solar-powered boreholes, and the housing scheme.
"I am going to revive my strawberry business. In addition to selling raw strawberries, we are now going to make jam, juice and strawberry wine.
"We plan to establish an operation focused on quality, sustainability, and local sourcing of raw materials. I am projecting to get 20 percent market share in local food stores.
"I also intend to train my fellow war veterans on strawberry farming. The crop requires irrigation water, which is doable since solar-powered boreholes will be made available for war veterans."
Read the original article on The Herald.