Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent

COMMUNITIES in Matabeleland South Province have embraced the concept of nutritional gardens, which have not only become a reliable source of income for them, but also a source of nutritious diet.

Government, in partnership with various stakeholders, has established nutritional gardens in various districts in the province. 

In the process, farmers have been equipped with enhanced farming and marketing skills which have become handy in managing their businesses.

Beneficiaries of these gardens have also been trained on fodder production for the purposes of growing stockfeed and agroforestry which encourages farmers to conduct their business in an environmentally friendly manner.

One of the communities that has benefited from these nutritional gardens are villagers from Nhwali area in Ward 24, Gwanda.  Twenty households from the ward have benefited from a nutritional garden which was established under the Government-led Small Holder Irrigation Revitilisation Programme (SIRP).

In an interview, Ms Rebecca Dube who is the project treasurer said the garden known as Tswaranani Garden, has become a source of livelihood for them. She said it had also eased their nutrition challenges.

Ms Dube said they established the garden in October last year and they had managed to harvest produce valued at about R3 900.

“We started Tswaranani Garden in October last year. A community member donated his garden and then we turned it into a community garden. At the moment, we have 20 members. We grow an assortment of crops and plants in this garden and we sell some for income purposes and eat some with our families for nutritional purposes.

“The crops we have include egg plant, spinach, butternut, tomatoes, water melon, beans, groundnuts, round nuts and sorghum. We also grow fodder for feeding our livestock. We managed to harvest spinach, butternut, water melon, egg plant and tomatoes and we raised a total income of R3 840. This garden has brought a huge sigh of relief as we can now fend for our families,” she said.

Ms Dube said it was their wish to expand the garden. She said the garden had become a reliable source of income for her as she could pay school fees and buy clothes for her children using proceeds that came from selling crops. She said once they expanded the garden, it meant more villagers from the ward could benefit and their income would rise.

Mr Tadios Sibanda who is chairperson of the project said SIRP assisted them with fertiliser and seed. He said they also received training from officers from Agritex on proper farming methods. 

Mr Sibanda said they were trained on how to deal with parasites, how to properly water their crops while preserving water as well as marketing their produce.

He said they sold some of their produce to nearby schools and they were looking for other markets.

In Bethel Village in Ward 14, villagers have benefited from a 3 300 square metre garden where they are growing a mixture of crops, plants and trees under the Green Enterprise Project which was recently launched in Gwanda by Hand in Hand Zimbabwe.  The initiative, Progressive Garden, has 45 beneficiaries. Project member, Ms Mandlela Dube said they had a variety of crops which included butternut, tomatoes and onions. She said they also had a variety of fruit trees and sugar cane. Ms Dube said they had a nursery where they nurtured their tree seedlings to trees which they later sold. 

“We are grateful for this project which was established with the assistance of Hand in Hand Zimbabwe. In our garden, we have a variety of nutritional crops and plants that we grow and later sell in order to get an income while some are for consumption with our families. With this garden, I know that I won’t fail to put food on my table.

“In addition to these crops and plants, we also grow trees in the garden and nurture seedlings that we sell in order to get an income. In this project, we understand that plants and crops are not the only source of income and food but so are trees and while we do our farming, we also have to preserve the environment. This project will help us harvest even during drought times,” she said.

Ms Dube said Hand in Hand Zimbabwe assisted them with training on marketing, business and farming. She said the organisation also assisted them in establishing the garden by providing a fence and equipment for a solar system.

In Sengenzana Village in Ward 14, about 25 households have benefited from a solar powered garden that was sponsored by Amalima.

The chairperson of the garden, Mrs Esther Maseko said the garden had become a source of livelihood for the benefiting households. 

She said they were selling their products to local schools and the community.

“Siphosethu Garden has brought huge relief to us as a village as it has become a source of livelihood to us and our families. We have 24 households that are farming at this garden. We have supplied our products to a number of schools locally and we also sell our products to locals.

“The products that we normally grow in this garden include butternut, maize, tomatoes, water melon, sweet potatoes, onions and chomolia. Before we sell our products, we make inquiries on the pricing trends then we peg our prices a bit lower so we can cater for the rural folk. The money that we realise after selling our products is the money we use to pay school fees for our children and to put food on the table. This project has really proved to be a reliable source of income,” she said.

Mrs Maseko said they were still looking for more markets where they could sell their products in bulk. She said Amalima assisted them with resources to build the garden while villagers provided labour adding there were other stakeholders who also assisted in the project.

Mrs Maseko said Amalima and Agritex facilitated the training of the villagers in preparation for the project. She said the garden got its water supply from Tuli River.

“There’s a pipe line which draws water from Tuli River into a tank in the garden. The water is then drawn from the tank to the crops through a drip system,” she said.

Matabeleland South provincial livestock and crop development officer, Ms Simangaliphi Ngwabi said communities have been urged to establish nutritional gardens and venture into irrigation farming in order to ensure food security as the province receives low rainfall resulting in poor performance of rain-fed crops.

She said communities had embraced this concept and the desire was for each ward to have several nutritional gardens which could sustain a number of households. Ms Ngwabi said Government, in partnership with various stakeholders, had seen the establishment of a number of nutritional gardens in the province. She said more were in the pipeline.

“The purpose of nutritional gardens is to ensure food and nutrition security within communities. Our desire is that each ward may have several nutrition gardens. We are in a dry area suitable for livestock farming and crops don’t perform well, therefore irrigation farming and nutritional gardens are the way to go.

“Our focus is now on food and nutrition security among communities. Nutritional gardens have proven very useful especially where communities have shown commitment. We have a number of non-governmental organisations that have come in and assisted communities in establishing gardens. In the process, farmers are also trained on enhanced farming methods,” she said.

Ms Ngwabi said given the prevailing conditions caused by climate change, farmers had to adopt suitable farming methods and incorporate new farming methods. – @DubeMatutu.