Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare in CHIPINGE
FARMERS at two Village Business Units (VBUs) in drought-prone Chipinge have generated a combined US$5 802 from horticultural produce, demonstrating the income potential of irrigation-supported community farming.
Chidamoyo VBU generated US$3 071 from its garden, while Matikwa VBU recorded US$2 731, with the two one-hectare gardens benefiting from solar-powered water infrastructure and drip irrigation.
The gardens are part of the Integrated Rural Resilience Building (IRRB) Programme, financially supported by the Government of Japan through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and implemented with local partners and Government departments.
The programme is helping climate-vulnerable communities shift from dependence on rain-fed agriculture towards irrigation-supported production, value chains and structured markets.
Chidamoyo and Matikwa are located in Natural Region V, where low and erratic rainfall frequently constrains agricultural production.
Manicaland Provincial Agricultural Development Advisory Services (ADAS) director Mr Nhamo Mudada said irrigation was critical to sustaining production in such areas.
“In this region, rainfall is minimal. And because of that, we are drilling boreholes to take underground water to provide for these crops,” he said.
He said drip irrigation allowed farmers to make better use of limited water resources.
“If you see the type of irrigation that we are using here, the drip irrigation, it saves a lot of water,” Mr Mudada said.
The gardens are also being developed as commercial enterprises, with farmers encouraged to identify markets before producing.
“You have to produce a crop with a market that is ready,” he said.
At Chidamoyo, farmers are producing horticultural crops, while the Matikwa garden is currently under chillies.
Mr Mudada said the market-led approach was intended to prevent farmers from producing crops without guaranteed buyers.
“As a ministry with our different departments, we support them to get markets and contracts before they start to produce, so that you produce for a market,” he said.
The income generated from the gardens is giving farmers an additional source of household earnings while strengthening the commercial orientation of the VBUs.
Chidamoyo farmer Prayers Musikiri, 26, said the project had demonstrated that young people could make a living from agriculture despite the area’s harsh climatic conditions.
“As young people, this garden has shown us that we can make a living from farming even in an area where rainfall is low,” she said.
For 75-year-old Chidamoyo farmer Nhlanganayi Dube, the availability of irrigation has reduced dependence on rainfall.
“We used to depend almost entirely on the rains, but now we have water for our crops,” he said.
Matikwa farmer Mavis Musodzi said the combination of irrigation and access to markets had changed the purpose of production.
“We are no longer farming only for consumption. We are producing with a market in mind, and this gives us an opportunity to earn money from our work,” she said.
The two VBUs have also been integrated into wider agricultural value chains, with 41.9 tonnes of sesame procured from supported farmers.
WFP Programme Policy Officer Munyaradzi Gahadzikwa said the intervention was part of a shift towards building resilience among communities repeatedly affected by climate shocks.
“We have since transitioned to a situation where we now want to support these communities to become resilient because they continue to face climate change-induced shocks and stressors that continue to disrupt their livelihoods,” he said.
The programme also incorporates anticipatory action, helping communities prepare for climate-related hazards before they occur.
“With anticipatory action, basically, we want to support the communities to better prepare before the disaster strikes, and this will then help to mitigate and reduce the impact of the disaster,” Gahadzikwa said.
Mr Mudada said Government viewed VBUs as part of its wider rural industrialisation drive, with the ultimate objective of turning community production into viable businesses.
“What we look forward to see is a village business unit or a business unit whereby the members are registered into a company, and they get dividends at the end of the day,” he said.
