VENTURE INTO AGRIBUSINESS TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY

By NOEL IYOMBWA

MOST young graduates wait on government for employment or any white-collar jobs preferably in financial institutions hence end up spending most of their time on social media for negative reasons.

But this is a different case for 27-year-oldSylvia Nshimbi a General Agriculture graduate from Senkobo in Kazungula district who believes in learning how to grow her own food as this is the only way to fight poverty.

Though she does not know what motivated her to go into farming, still Sylvia has passion for farming such that after graduating she started working in different farms just to gain experience to be used later in future when she owns her farm.

Initially she wanted to become a nurse but discovered the passion for farming after reading an article that talked about how Africans were starving and how much of a consumer continent Africa is despite how rich it is in terms of resources and arable land.

“I decided I would be a farmer so that I could help feed others and contribute to Zambia’s GDP and I can say all my life, we farmed with my parents in the village and wherever we've moved to we would always engage in farming even it's just a backyard garden,” she explained.

She is currently pursuing a course in soil microbiology under the soil food web program.

"Farming is my life I love, breath, talk and live farming it's my happy place.

Ms. Nshimbi does not own a functional farm of hers but she has managed to acquire a piece of land using money that she earned from working in other people’s farms.

She explains that she does not wish to work on a full-time basis but as a consultant specifically on regenerative or Organic farming.

Ms. Nshimbi is encouraging her fellow youths to start where they are and with what they have adding that no one is coming to save them.

"And if you are to find opportunities, you have to position yourself, let the opportunities meet you half way (Prepared).

"I'll tell you of this story, before getting employed, I deployed myself by starting a small backyard garden where I would supply vegetables to a few households in our community, started formulating organic fertilizer and would put all my works on social media and because of this people knew who I was.

"I have only applied for one job which was my first, the rest people just call me and employ me based on my word because I have been positioning myself," she said.

Ms. Nshimbi works on part time basis and currently she is working on an organic farm in Livingstone.

She is looking forward to raise money to sink a borehole on her newly acquired land which she bought few weeks ago.