Sundaymail Editor
Irene Kalulu
WITH global hunger on the rise due to climate change, it has become vital for communities the world over to adapt and have mitigation strategies.
Women in Shurugwi and surrounding areas have embraced communal nutrition gardens as a way of protecting the environment, having an alternative income and reducing daily food costs. Thandiwe Chigovera (66) is one of the more active members of Mufiri Consolidated Garden in Village Mufiri under Chief Banga in Shurugwi. Mufiri Consolidated Garden comprises three villages in Shurugwi with a membership of 95 people, representing different families. They plant such crops as beetroot, spinach, pepper and other nutritious vegetables.
“We were used to planting one type of vegetable all year round, but now we are not afraid to experiment. Through these gardens we have been able to start other income generating projects like rearing Boschveld chickens which are resistant to disease. As women we have an advantage because we now have our own disposable incomes and don’t have to depend on our husbands for everything,” she said.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), improved agricultural livelihoods are key to lasting empowerment, agricultural transformation and improved nutrition. Food security, climate change and malnutrition can no longer be addressed independent of each other if there is any hope of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2) on ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition.
Ms Anna Brazier, a Sustainable Development consultant said in order to achieve SDG2, there is need to rethink agriculture and environmental management.
“We need to opt for a more sustainable solution for improving the soil. This can include intercropping with legumes and agro forestry methods for field crops. For garden crops, we look at more organic techniques. We need to improve the soil and we don’t do this by pouring fertilisers on the soil because this is not a long term solution. Fertilisers require a huge amount of fossil fuel to make them and they emit greenhouse gases. We also need to think about pest management because pests are going to become more of a problem because of global warming,” she said.
She encouraged farmers to grow more food crops instead of cash crops.
“We are polluting the soil and water with chemicals used for agriculture and we are not growing a wide range of food crops. We are mainly devoted to cash crops or livestock feed. Zimbabwe needs to move from cotton and tobacco production because we are using precious resources to produce yet the prices internationally are so poor that farmers are actually becoming impoverished. So we need to be rethinking our whole agricultural policies and focus on food production using the resources that we have sustainably,” she said.
According to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), various forms of malnutrition coexist because of causes related to climate change. WHO says two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, 815 million are in a state of caloric deficit and nearly one in four children suffer from chronic malnutrition.
With the world currently on a drive to end hunger as envisioned by SDG2, it has become imperative to embrace alternative strategies of agriculture so that communities do not depend on rain-fed agriculture.
Women in Communities (WICO) Director, Ms Rebecca Tendai Chirenga said it is important for women to become climate-smart and nutrition-smart.
“Climate change is affecting women a lot because they are the ones working the fields and they have to reap the little that they get there because of floods and droughts. We have introduced market or community gardens which these women now focus on. When fields are dry or flooding they can still concentrate on their gardens. They are able to produce enough for their families’ consumption and also make money,” she said.
Ms Kurai Madzimure (54) also of Mufiri Village says that the nutrition garden has been her greatest source of income since 1999.
“These gardens have transformed our lives as women in the village. We share what we harvest then sell the produce at market points that we have established. We have also set up savings clubs using money from these gardens. When we pool the money together we are then able to buy livestock or cater for other needs,” she said.
Ms Janet Makombe, District Coordinator of Self Help Development Foundation (SHDF) who works with women in Shurugwi says that they have tried to encourage holistic land and livestock management. “Women now know the best farming practices to use to combat the effects of climate change. The nutrition gardens provide a platform where we have seen an increased participation by women and they are able to feed their families with nutritious food without incurring additional costs. We also encourage re-planting trees especially in Shurugwi where most trees have been cut down due to gold panning,” she said.
This story was written with funding from and as a part of the WAN_IFRA Women in News Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) project.
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