Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has trained more than 150 rural consumers in organic farming methods in Masvingo as part of efforts to address food security challenges at household level in the province.

CCZ director Ms Rosemary Siyachitema said the organisation received funding for the training from Consumer Worldwide.

She said the training was meant to assist households to be able to address their food security through the use of organic fertilizers and chemicals in crop and small livestock production.

“We have trained 154 households in Masvingo Zaka and Chivi districts under a sustainable food production and consumption fund. The fund, involving small amounts, is from Consumer World Wide, to which CCZ is a member,” said Ms Siyachitema.

She said issues of climate change were also caused by the continued use of inorganic fertilisers, which had exacerbated global warming.

“Communities were trained on how to make compost from dry crop leaves and maize stalks so that they can apply the manure to their nutritional gardens. They were also getting skills on how to rear small livestock like, chicken and rabbits, using natural means.

“Issues of global warming, associated with droughts, high temperatures, floods and an increase in non-communicable diseases-related deaths have been linked to the consumption of food grown through the use artificial methods of farming,” she said.

CCZ, said Ms Siyachitema, had also trained communities around the capital city of Harare on organic farming and the organisation was satisfied with the response.

Ms Siyachitema added that CCZ was targeting consumer action clubs in communities where most trained households had successfully adopted sustainable crop and livestock production.

She said they were planning to roll out the programme to all rural communities countrywide subject to availability of funding.