Elita Chikwati in Mudzi

Farmers in Mudzi have started diversifying into different crops to reduce the risk of total crop failure due to unpredictable rainfall patterns and ensure household food   security.

A number of farmers are having challenges due to consecutive droughts caused by climate change.

This has seen some farmers shifting to short-season varieties while others are producing small grains such as rapoko, sorghum, millet and cowpeas that are drought tolerant and offer better yields even under dry conditions.

The farmers were also venturing into fish farming and nutritional gardening.

They said growing different crops will ensure household food security if one or two crops fail.

Some of the farmers are now processing their crops to maximise their earnings. One of the farmers, Mrs Loveness Kowo of Nhakiwa Village, said she now grows a variety of crops for her family and the market.

“I used to grow maize but since Mudzi is a low-rainfall area it never performed well. Now I grow sorghum, sugar beans, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, cassava and leafy vegetables to ensure household food security.

“I can sell my sweet potatoes and buy maize. I also use some of my produce for barter trade and this is benefiting the whole family. Besides, the income, my family and my customers have access to nutritious food,” she said.

Mrs Kowo is also practising crop rotation including nitrogen fixing crops in a bid to improve the soil.

The World Food Programme (WFP) assisted the Nyakuchena community with a solar-powered borehole and through World Vision and Agritex, the farmers are now using irrigation.

The borehole supplies water for irrigation enabling members to grow different crops throughout the year.

Nyakuchena nutritional garden member, Mrs Christina Chidhaka, has also gone into fish farming.

“I grow sunflowers which I express into cooking oil. I also grow different crops which I can sell and buy maize with the proceeds.

“We have received training from World Vision and Agritex and now practise conservation agriculture and this has seen yields going up,” she said.

Mudzi Agritex crop specialist Mr Godfrey Mboweni said they were teaching farmers to depend not only on maize production but to include other crops especially small grains.

“Farmers are producing cowpeas, sorghum and millet which perform better than maize even under low rainfall,” he said.

Mudzi district development coordinator Mr Robert Muzeziwa said Mudzi fell in ecological regions four and five, which are characterised by low rainfall.

“People rely on subsistence farming. For the past two seasons they have not been getting meaningful yields, leaving them food insecure.

“Government is working with other organisations to ensure people are food and nutrition secure.

“We have a cordial relationship with partners such as the World Food Programme which is spearheading the Lean Season Assistance (LSA) programme. We also welcome supplementary activities such as the establishment of nutritional gardens introduced by WFP and its implementing partner World Vision. This has helped in building resilience and it ensures sustainability,” he said.

Under the LSA programme, the food insecure communities in Mudzi are getting foodstuffs such as maize or mealie-meal, cooking oil, pulses and porridge for pregnant women and children under five years.

The organisations have also trained farmers with assistance from Agritex on nutritional gardens and fish farming.

WFP Zimbabwe communications officer Miss Claire Neville said consecutive droughts had impacted negatively on crop production resulting in many being food insecure.

She said 58 000 people in Mudzi were benefiting from their LSA programme while nationally 3,5 million were getting assistance.

The WFP intends to increase the number of beneficiaries to 4,1 million, resources permitting.

She said the organisation had also expanded from food distribution to include building resilience among communities through investing in irrigation, establishment of nutritional gardens, fish farming and assisting with dipping chemicals to reduce cattle deaths from tick-borne diseases.

“We are helping communities in building resilience through construction of dams, feeding into irrigation and improving livestock. We are helping establish community assets so that people can have food on the table and earn an income. The people will also be able to sustain themselves not only now but in the future. The people are also getting training so that they do not lose out on the benefits,” she said.

Zimbabwe, like the rest of Southern Africa, has been affected by recurrent drought resulting in food shortages.

Government is also importing grain from different countries to meet the national requirement and ensure people do not starve.