adminSamuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
A CRITICAL project to enhance livelihood options for the marginalised poor through micro-irrigation and small livestock production with associated market linkages that guarantee economic and social inclusion of refugees at Tongorara Refugees Camp has reduced the inmates’ decade long dependency syndrome.
Prior to the project, the majority of households at the camp in the drier parts of Chipinge, practiced traditional and subsistence-oriented agriculture due to lack of infrastructure and limited access to inputs, particularly irrigation water.
Most of the households are ethnic minorities from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi, and headed by women, whose socio-economic advancement through increased access to livelihood and income options suffered neglect until a micro-irrigation and water harvesting technology promoted by GOAL Zimbabwe emerged as a promising option for inmates to increase their incomes through production and marketing of cash crops in an area where canal irrigation was once thought as not viable.
The irrigation facility has now demonstrated potential to reduce the refugees’ dependency on UNHCR and Government support.
So far, 1 000 inmates have benefited from the project aimed at improving agricultural productivity and diversification of on and off-farm activities such as maize, sugar beans and high value crops production, poultry, piggery and micro-gardening.
Some of the refugees have been at the camp for over 10 years and are unable return to their countries of origin, prompting project partners and Government to come up with these medium to long term interventions.
Goal Zimbabwe Assistant Country Director, Professor Joseph Kamuzhanje, said the project’s main thrust was improving household food and nutrition security and enhancing refugees’ income generating opportunities through the sale of surplus produce and small livestock, formation of savings and lending groups and youth led micro and small enterprises.
This will contribute to targets set in the economic blue-print – the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) under Cluster One (food and nutrition security) and Cluster Four – (value addition and beneficiation).
“441 plot holders were provided with agricultural inputs that include seed and fertiliser for growing sugar beans and maize on the 25 hectare irrigation scheme. Training on good agricultural practices and farming as a business was also provided to the plot holders,” said Prof Kamuzhanje.
Prof Kamuzhanje said an additional 127 refugees were trained on vegetable production and supported with vegetable seeds to establish micro and vertical gardens at their homesteads, while another 127 were trained in small livestock production, 79 in poultry production and 48 in pig husbandry.
The livestock farmers were provided with an initial support of stock feed, but are expected to make their own stock feed in 2016 using stover and crop residues from the irrigation scheme and gardens.
A total of 96 refugees were trained in village savings and lending. They successfully formed 25 self-selected savings groups.
“Some of them have been in the camp for over 10 years and there is need to focus on developing interventions that promote self-reliance within the agreed mandates of their status as refugees. Within the camp, there are a number of livelihoods opportunities which can and are being exploited for the benefit of the refugees and the host community,” said Prof Kamuzhanje.
According to a baseline survey conducted by GOAL in 2015, 67 percent of households are engaged in income generating activities such as dressmaking, hairdressing, brick molding, retailing, and petty trading.
Chipinge District Administrator, Mr Edgars Seenza, said as the district was encouraged by the market oriented approach to the livelihoods project adopted by GOAL.
“This will ensure that produce from the camp has a market and that the refugees are able to earn some income. This is a key factor towards building self-reliance and sustainability. For this to happen, it is important that those refugees that are taking part in the programmes understand the need to work together with the technical experts so that they can meet and exceed demand from the private sector in terms of both quality and quantity,” said Mr Seenza.
“Through the project, improved food and nutrition security will be attained as the refugees will be able to use crops and livestock to meet both food and nutrition requirements. They will also enjoy improved income generation from the sale of surplus crop produce and small livestock. The youth run businesses will be able to generate income which can be used to meet both food and non-food requirements,” explained Mr Seenza.
GOAL is working with experts from Agritex and Livestock Production Department (LPD) in training, surveys and implementation.
This has also resulted in the capacity building of local extension workers and will ensure that they are able to continue to provide technical assistance to the refugees and the host community.
There is potential for an environmental disaster as the rate of tree-cutting for firewood is very high in the camp.
GOAL is abetting the looming environmental disaster given the high rate of deforestation in the camp within the Zimbabwe Climate Change strategy framework by promoting the Fuel Efficient Stoves (FES) at the camp.
The stoves use twigs and save firewood and those households that have promoted the FES have significantly reduced the amount of firewood they use for cooking and the timber ration that they receive from UNHCR is able to stretch for longer.
In 2016, GOAL together with UNHCR and DSW will work towards the inclusion of people living with disabilities in the self-reliance initiatives, thereby upholding Article 27 1(f) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the implementation of its activities.
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