Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri , Business Reporter
AMAGUGU International Heritage Centre in partnership with Caritas Zimbabwe has set up a local traditional seedbank in Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province to ensure food security, while also dealing with the challenges of climate change.
Matabeleland South Province, which falls under agro-ecological Region 4 and 5 characterised by severe dry spells and frequent seasonal droughts, has not been spared from the effects of climate change.
A seed-bank is a place where suitable conditions are maintained to conserve seed specimens of different plant species (wild or cultivated). The objective is to ensure the preservation of as many plants as possible for posterity.
In an interview, Amagugu International Heritage Centre programmes officer, Mr Allington Ndlovu said the two community oriented organisations were working together to preserve and promote traditional seed diversity.
“There is a collaboration between us as Amagugu International Heritage Centre and Caritas Zimbabwe, with the objective of promoting agro-ecology, which is sustainable farming that works with nature. On our part, we come in with the heritage part since we thrive in that field.
Caritas Zimbabwe does a lot of agriculture and environmental conservation programmes. We thought it is a good idea to work together in initiatives and programmes since we are both organisations that work with communities.
“We came up with an idea of building a seedbank which has since been completed as a structure for now. It was mainly to give the community a chance to research on various seeds, some of which are drought-resistant and some not.
It is a way of giving them (farmers) a chance to participate in development of sustainable agriculture in the community.”
He said the seed-bank at the centre was coming at a time when the Traditional Food and Beverages Expo which they host every year in either April or May, where a number of farmers and various stakeholders participate was about to convene.
Mr Ndlovu said the seedbank would be used for exchange of traditional seeds such as okra, rapoko, black jack, millet, sorghum, beans, pumpkins, butternuts, maize and many others, while the seeds stored could also be sold to other farmers.
“There are going to be some workshops where people will go out into the community to collect various seeds be it millet, sorghum, and many others for stocking into the seedbank. It will therefore act as an archive to store various seeds.
Some of them will be sold but most of them will be exhibited for tourism and school children coming in. The community will also come and research on which seeds are best for a particular season as well as the year looking at the weather patterns.”
He added that they would continue to implement and facilitate various programmes that were in line with the organisation’s vision and mission of documentation and preservation of indigenous cultural heritage.
He said they were creating synergies between the organisation and the community through engagement and involvement in various initiatives.
“We leverage on the power of arts, culture and heritage for active citizenship. We also work with line ministries such as Primary and Secondary Education, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, and Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training on a number of programmes and community engagement initiatives,” he said.
Caritas Zimbabwe Bulawayo Development Co-ordinator, Mr Welcome Sibanda said a seedbank was important to ensure that farmers were seed secure and that the seeds were readily available for them.
He said agro-ecology guarantees that the seeds would be healthy and would withstand harsh weather conditions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Online Reporter