Sifelani Tsiko
Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor
For 15 years armed with a four-pound hammer and a chisel, Clever Dumela, smallholder farmer at Jekero village of the Save area of Chiredzi dug out a well until water gushed out.

In this dry and arid region, water is a precious commodity.

And when Dumela found water, he set his eyes on fish farming to tap on this protein rich resource for his family and the community.

“I worked as a carpenter for years and got nothing. It did not improve my life at all. When l got water from this well l dug out for 15 years, l quickly ventured into fish farming.

“I was inspired by Mr Benson Moyo from Bandana village in ward 4 who has successfully ventured into fish farming.”

On his 3,5-hectare smallholder farm plot, Dumela worked hard with the help of his wife, Josephine, children and other local people to dig three fish ponds.

With determination and perseverance, he now has a thriving fish farm venture with a stock of more than 100 000 fish.

Learning and training was critical for him to start fish farming.

Dumela received training from the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund Enhancing Community Resilience and Sustainability (ECRAS) project which was started in 2016 in Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts.

The US$100 million project is being implemented by CARE International with funding from the European Union, the embassy of Sweden, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), formerly known as DFID.

It will run until 2022 and aims to contribute to an increased capacity of communities to protect development gains in the face of recurrent shocks and stresses enabling them to contribute to the economic development of Zimbabwe.

“I have received extensive training on fish farming from the ECRAS project,” Dumela said. “I didn’t believe that it was possible for us as black people to start fish farming and succeed.

“Here l am today, I have three ponds with a stock of 100 000 fish. It means a lot to me. I can feed and send my children to school with earnings l get from rearing fish.”

Dumela feeds his fish until maturity when each unit reaches a weight of between 800g and 1kg.

He sells fish at R50 per kg or 55 US cents per kg. He estimates that he will earn more than R20 000 once his current stock matures.

“I hope to earn more R20 000 after covering my fuel and fish feed stock cost,: said Dumela.

“The costs are huge because we use a petrol water pump to get the water from our well.

“I spend US$22 for a 25kg bag of fish feed. I need at least three bags a week plus fuel for water. The costs are high but l am optimistic that l will save money to put a solar water pump system to cut costs.”

Dumela feeds his fish twice or three times a day. He is also receiving training on how to make fish feed using local resources.

His passion for fish farming has seen him training 10 other fellow farmers in his community.He believes that had it not been for the knowledge that he soaked up from his mentor, Moyo, he would never have reached the success he attained today.

“Every day l looked forward learning from him,” said Dumela. “I also enjoyed the workshop sessions organised by CARE under the ECRAS project. All this played an important role in my journey.

“It is almost like l was breastfed by ECRAS and Mr Moyo to have the knowledge of fish rearing that l have and still use to inspire others.

“I’m now a model farmer and l am supporting 10 other farmers with knowledge, fingerlings and other technical skills to help them take up fish farming.”

His pursuit for knowledge has seen him also imparting his skills to his children and also taking up integrated agro-ecological farming at his smallholder farming plot.

Dumela uses water from the ponds to grow the crops such as vegetables, beans, tomatoes, cabbages, green mealies and cow peas. He produces his own cooking gas from a biodigester which he feeds with cow dung.

“We use biogas to cook,” Dumela’s wife, Josephine, said. “I no longer use firewood. It saves our trees and leaves me with more time for my husband and family.

“Water from the fish ponds is rich with nutrients from fish waste. We use it to water our bean crop and vegetables. This helps us to cut the use of inorganic fertilisers which are expensive.”

Armed with decade’s worth of experience in the aquaculture sector, Dumela has a thriving tilapia farming venture which has earned him money to buy more cattle and goats and an array of assets, domestic and farming equipment.

He says fish farming is the answer to achieving food security in rural and local township communities by supplying the continued demand for sustainable proteins.

“I never thought this was possible to achieve in this dry and arid region,” Dumela said. “But l made it happen through hard work and perseverance. I’m surviving very well and with a good rainy season and crop, 2021 is going to be an awesome year for me.”

Dumela faces risks of poaching by some local criminals, as well as the challenge of running a petrol powered water pump which eats into his earnings.

He lost some fish when some criminally minded people put a poisonous tuber plant known as Zombwe in one of his pond.

“The threats are real,” said Dumela. “I patrol my ponds three or four times a night just to secure my stocks. Criminals never sleep and they are always planning evil things. I hope to buy security fence to secure my fish stock.

“I survived a huge loss, l have cried many tears, but l told myself, ‘Dumela, you have to be strong and overcome evil minded people.’ I believe in myself and l cannot disappoint myself by giving up. Surrendering is not an option.”

Players Gweme, an ECRAF programme coordinator under Care International said with appropriate training smallholder farmers can adopt fish farming to get protein food and enhance their livelihoods.

“It is easy for farmers to take it up once they are trained,” said Gweme.

“Fish farming can be a self- funding venture and there is no reason why it cannot be cascaded throughout rural villages in Zimbabwe.

“Fish is a rich source of protein. It plays  an important role in our rural areas where our people need a good source of protein. It has lots of opportunities and we must fuel the passion to farm with fish among our people.”

Dumela hopes to leave a viable business to his son.

“I’m teaching him to take this fish farming empire to the next level,” he said. “It must not die with me. I’m laying the foundation and he must take this heritage forward when l die.”