adminWomen typically continue to play second fiddle in the home and society at large, with men making all the important decisions. Because of power dynamics, men often have the ultimate decision on which crops to plant, which beast has to be sold, and when.
Women are rendered powerless and their views irrelevant. African societies have down trodden women’s participation in the most productive sectors including agriculture.
This mindset has been perpetrated by the belief that women are not experienced enough to make sound decisions in any particular activity in the society let alone agriculture. Hence in most cases they are not consulted.
Owing to this, women enter agricultural business with uncertainty and those who succeed would have worked hard to earn respect.
For Mrs Sizwile Moyo who with her husband Abel owns a farm in Mangwe in Matabeleland South, success in agriculture can be realised fully when a woman works jointly with her husband.
This involves allowing women to make independent decisions and empowering them to partake in agricultural activities that are traditionally perceived to be a man’s domain.
They undertake an array of agricultural activities at their property, Darlington Farm. These include livestock rearing, fishing and crop farming. Fishing is done in a dam just near their homestead. All these activities have become the main sources of income for the family.
Realising the need for combined effort in working hand in glove with her husband in order to enhance agricultural productivity, Mrs Moyo feeds about 90 cattle. She has also started out with dairy cows. She does fishing too and the fish caught are sold in Plumtree town and Bulawayo. She has her portion of land where she grows vegetables and tomatoes which are in turn supplied to Usher Institute and Empandeni boarding schools.
“I assist my husband a lot on the farm because I realised the importance of working mutually with him in order to increase the productivity.
“I feed about 90 cattle, inject them and milk them. I usually do this when my husband is busy with other things. It is quite rare to see a woman rearing cattle especially when it comes to feeding and milking because culturally this has been associated with men. Besides this I also do fishing in the dam within the farm and in turn sell the fish to Plumtree town and Bulawayo,” said Mrs Moyo.
She also rears about 100 free-range chickens and 20 guinea fowls.
Speaking during a tour of farming projects in Mangwe recently, the province’s project manager for Women in Agriculture, Mrs Portia Gwenzi said there are few women in mainstream agriculture due to lack of empowerment. She said women do not get adequate training in agricultural skills and hence their limited number.
“Women are hardly seen in agriculture because they think that this trade is suitable for men. This is due to the lack of knowledge and skills on how they can work independently from their male counterparts.
“Culture continues to be a hampering factor, hindering most women from establishing their own agricultural projects because of the belief that a woman has to operate under her husband when it comes to agriculture,” said Mrs. Gwenzi.
She called on the Government to meet women farmers halfway by providing them with necessary resources.
“Women should be seen in the rearing of livestock such as cattle and goats. They should also feature not only in the cultivation of vegetables and maize but tobacco and other disciplines such as mining, piggery and poultry among others. They have to form cooperatives and join farmers’unions so as to easily get assistance from the Government and other organisations,” added Mrs. Gwenzi.
She added that women should be empowered to make independent decisions on the sale of livestock and other agricultural produce.
The tour covered several farmers in areas such as Masendu, Tshankwa, Somnene, Ezimnyama and Brunapeg.
Early last year, the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) embarked on a programme aimed at identifying women farmers in rural Zimbabwe so as to offer them necessary assistance in agriculture.
ZCFU chairman, Mr Winston Babbage said the aim of the programme is to empower as many women farmers as possible from grassroots levels so as to balance the gender disparity that exists in the nation’s agricultural system.
“We encourage more women in rural areas to get into agriculture as a way of promoting the Government’s women empowerment drive.
“They should work together with their husbands and not work under them. As such this endeavour will go a long way in boosting their agricultural produce and improving their standards of living,” said Mr Babbage.
Online Reporter