Being the only girl from a family of 4, I learnt at an early stage to stand for myself. I am the eldest child in my family, born in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. I was born in a mining town of Zvishavane, where my father used to work as a Fitter. I have seen him work hard and persevered into managerial ranks. I learnt what endurance and hard work is from him. My interest in agriculture stems from my mother, who has been in charge of running our family farm for as long as I can remember. We have a plot of land where my mother practices subsistence farming on various grains, vegetables, and nuts. In addition, cattle farming and chicken rearing is also practiced on our land.

After high school I furthered my education at the agriculture college, and thereafter was immediately recruited into the government arm of research and extension. I worked there for five years before the famous Zimbabwean economic meltdown. My main responsibilities involved establishing farmer groups which involved learning and sharing new innovations ideas, liaising, and coordinating with various stakeholders. I supervised extension and training on good agronomic practices that helped farmers mitigate challenges they face to enhance sustainable livelihoods, food security and ultimately alleviate poverty amongst rural communities.

I moved to South Africa and joined Afrikelp™ in 2010 as a receptionist. Over time, our former MD recognized my enthusiasm and passion for research and development, and later I was awarded the opportunity to assist in establishing Afrikelp’s Research and Development Department. Since then, I graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture (Crop Production) from Agriseta and became the Research Technician at Afrikelp.

Currently, I am part of a vibrant R&D team that is involved in coding effective application methods and regimes for improving specific crop growth. My main role is to investigate the effects our products have on various crops in growing rooms that are temperature and humidity controlled. The pot trials are done in triplicate. When statistical differences are found in these trials, it is then replicated into the field by our agronomists.

Growing Room Trials: