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Tendai Rupapa in BUHERA
AGRIC4SHE patron, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, yesterday bubbled over with joy as she witnessed the positive impact of her farming programme when she met hundreds of women who have ventured into value addition and the exportation of garlic, ginger and turmeric at a field Day in Buhera, Manicaland Province.
She also honoured those who excelled in their farming activities around the province.
The beneficiaries also focus mainly on Horticulture4She and Livestock4She.
They formed farming clubs and do their projects in groups thanks to the First Lady who gave them inputs last year and encouraged them to work in groups.
Dr Mnangagwa held an interactive session with thousands of community members where she espoused the values of hard work and need to curb domestic violence.
She humbly asked the community to vote President Mnangagwa and ZANU PF in the harmonised elections slated for August 23.
A passionate farmer in her own right, Amai Mnangagwa participated in grading turmeric, garlic and ginger at Mrs Christine Taranhike’s homestead, the venue for the field day.
The mother of the nation also participated in verm-composite making, which is the production of organic fertiliser using crop residue, cow dung, chicken droppings, goat droppings and kitchen waste.
She fed chickens, ducks, turkeys, guinea-fowls with feed from a mixture of garlic, ginger, maize, sunflower and millet.
Mrs Christine Taranhike of Buhera came out tops, followed by Mrs Jane Ndoro of Mutasa who came second and Mrs Leslie Rukuni of Mutare who came third.
Thousands of women follow proceedings during an interactive session with First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa at an AGRIC4SHE field day in Buhera yesterday.
In fourth position was Mrs Shuwiso Vangisai of Makoni while in fifth position was Mrs Annie Kakoma of Nyanga.
They all went home with amazing prices courtesy of the First Lady.
Women in the community are also actively participating into value addition to make baobab oil, lemon juice, tomato jam, gooseberry jam, pumpkin juice, dried mushroom chunks, tomatoes, apples, guavas, madhumbe, carrots, cabbage, okra, bananas and mangoes.
To dry the vegetables and fruits, the women are using solar driers that they were taught to make by officers from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development through Agric4She.
In her interactive session with the community, Amai Mnangagwa encouraged women to work hard at all times. “Today I have come to remind women that you are important and ask what you as mothers are waking up to do, spending the day doing. As women there are many duties that we face in raising our families. We are glad that the President and his Government saw there was a wing that was lagging behind, that of women. We did not have resources as women in farming but here we are today. The Ministry of Agriculture then approached me with a request to lead women and girls in farming. I agreed and quickly ran to the women. As women we have been remembered, we have been capacitated with resources. As a woman I say where are you? Are you involved in Agric4She?
“I was happy with the work Mrs Taranhike is doing here and working together with other women. I encourage you all to work together in groups so that the programmes spread and benefit all women.
“As a woman are you aware that you are a builder and warrior who chases hunger from the home. You are pacifiers and when you hear disturbances next door, you call the mother of Maggie and ask what the violence is all about. As a mother you are also a unifier in the families in which you were married, bringing people together, ending violence and discussing peacefully with your husbands because everyone came from a woman’s womb. We say to men do not beat us because we are your mothers too,” she said.
A woman shares her views during an interactive session with First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa after an AGRIC4SHE field day in Buhera yesterday
The First Lady shared a brief history of how she started promoting the production of traditional grains.
“When we started growing traditional grains in 2019, I invited wives of chiefs and gave them seed, I gave them goats to rear as mothers of the communities. I didn’t realise that the Government was noticing my quest to see women growing crops and rearing livestock.
“Through these traditional grains I introduced cookout competition and asked women from all provinces to come and showcase what they had and to show us what they were doing in terms of value addition. I didn’t end there, but as other countries sought to participate in what we were doing and we came up with a regional cookout competition where traditional grains were outstanding.
“Therefore, ladies let us grow traditional grains which were produced by our ancestors. We also want a woman’s granary where you store your grains. Chiefs have the Zunde raMambo concept but let us have a hozi yaamai pamusha. I said a woman is a pacifier so when you see someone hungry you simply take from the granary and help out,” she said.
The First Lady said she sought to encourage women to participate fully in farming projects.
“Today, I have come to thank and encourage the work done by women. Be involved in farming. There is the Presidential Inputs Scheme and Agric4She so why fail to participate. I have come to remove bad nicknames that come due to poor relations in communities. Agric4She came to end gossip. Those who were not yet part and parcel of the programme, I urge you to join. I once visited Iran where I went to source for light machinery through Mechanisation4She with the aim of enhancing production efficiency. What name do you want for your homestead? Vamwe vaitonzi ana mai badzarigere nekusashanda,” she asked.
The question elicited a lot of responses.
“I want my homestead to be identified as belonging to a farmer. I want to be called Mai Murimi,” one woman said.
Another contributor said “Mai Mazai” because through Agric4She, she said she was now raising chickens.
Women pose with their certificates and prizes which were handed over by AGRIC4SHE patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa during a field day in Manicaland yesterday
The First Lady also sought to know whether there was love and peace in the homes.
Mrs Zvinavashe said she was deeply in love with her husband and they worked together in everything like farming and their children were learning good things from them.
Mrs Charambira said she was previously known as Mai Besa or ZBC because she was into gossiping.
She said it was now a thing of the past and thanked the First Lady for initiating productive projects for them.
Mrs Majeje drew laughter when she likened herself to a plough because of hard work.
“My husband loves me because I bore him children and we grew his lineage and I am a plough in terms of my work rate,” she said.
The First Lady encouraged the women to show love at all times.
“Stay harmoniously with your spouses and be presentable at all times. Cook properly. We want men to rush home every day to enjoy well-cooked food. Men, vanamai told me that they love you so love them the same. Support your spouses in their various projects,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa humbly requested the Manicaland community to vote President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF in the harmonised elections slated for August 23.
“We are in election season. Boys and girls, men and women, grandmothers and grandfathers, I humbly request you to vote President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF. This will enable us as women to continue with our projects as I follow the President. As a woman you shall not sit idly, I will keep holding your right hand and move you from one place to the other so that your home has dignity. I still want to work with you, I am not yet done,” she said to applause.
Mrs Taranhike could not hide her joy.
“We saw our First Lady moving with the Agric4She programmes under which she encouraged all women to participate so that we fight hunger, poverty and the challenges of being looked down upon as rural-based women. Our mother whom we love so dearly gave us free-range chickens, rabbits and inputs to grow ginger, garlic and turmeric and horticulture crops. These crops provide good nutrition to us and our livestock. Our mother taught us that we can produce our feeds so that our animals grow healthy. She encourages us to consume traditional grains which are nutritious. She gave the women countrywide inputs and chemicals.
“We grow tomatoes, leaf vegetables and Pfumvudza crops which we receive from our mother under the agric4she programme. We are exporting some of our produce to south Africa as rural women through the knowledge we receive through Amai. We value add these crops into juices and pastes. As a woman my household challenges are over because I now have money to send my children to school up to university level. The First Lady taught us to wake up and work to uplift our families and the country. The projects are good for us and we shall achieve the goals of Vision 2030,” she said happily.
This dovetailed with the sentiments shared by Mrs Memory Batsira of Madondo Village.
“I am grateful to the First Lady who gave us seeds to plant. We grow herbs that we are cooking with our relish giving us good health. This cures hypertension, diabetes, jaundice. We thank you Amai for uplifting us as women. Field work demands strong people and the traditional grains and herbs we are growing are giving us good nutrition. We thank you for the Agric4She programme,” she said.
Mrs Ivy Fungai Mahachi said she was grateful the crops were helping the community earn a living and keep diseases at bay.
“I wish to thank our mother the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa for what she did for us. She empowered us as women so that we raise our families well. The crops help us fight diseases so that we do not fall ill constantly. They curb hypertension, cardiovascular challenges. Many countries are flocking for these crops and we are truly grateful to our mother,” she said.
Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Nokuthula Matsikenyere, thanked the First Lady for her programmes that were tailor-made to empower womenfolk.
“We are happy with the Agric4She programme. Our mother strives to see other women succeed. You empower women and have them at heart. The way you are empowering women bodes well for the country. You came and gave the women inputs, helped them plant and harvested with them. Today you are back to award those who excelled and distribute inputs and chemicals for women to prepare for the coming season. We thank you and love you,” she said.
For her exploits, Mrs Taranhike received a scotch cart, Ammonium Nitrate fertiliser, wheat seed, sorghum seed, calcium nitrate, a knapsack sprayer and maize seed, while the second winner was given a wheelbarrow, a plough, lime, knapsack sprayers, wheat seed, maize seed, sorghum seed and ammonium nitrate.
Those from third and fifth positions walked away with ploughs, wheat seed, maize seed, Ammonium Nitrate and chemicals.
The First Lady donated maize-meal, soya chunks, cooking oil, sugar, bathing soap and sanitary wear to the community.
Online Reporter