adminDepinah Nkomo is the Founder of Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Trust: Date: When organisation was Established: 12/04/2012
Director/Head of Organisation Name: Depinah Nkomo (Mrs)
We formed the organisation in 2011, and registered it in April 2012 After seeing the plight of women farmers, we saw it fit to start our women organisation, and fight for our rights. The organisation was founded at GMB Depot Aspindale, after spending more than two weeks staying at GMB waiting for inputs, without success.
Inputs were available, but there was a discrimination against women farmers, so we said enough is enough, and stood up for our rights. At last, we got the inputs.
Organisation Goal: Improved standard of living among young women farmers, girls and the elderly participating in the income generating programmes and community development works, assisting orphans and vulnerable child headed families to rely on own food production, encourage and improve gender equality and equity, linking women groups with markets through exhibitions, establish and strengthen mechanisms for women to effectively participate and benefit from community empowerment programmes, help implement sector gender policies and programs falling under the Ministry responsible for women affairs and gender equality.
Organisation Mandate: Accordingly, we have managed to attract and recruit talented women through our advocacy for farming, Members are not assessed on their qualifications for that would defeat the purpose of empowerment and indigenisation, but are assessed on their attitude towards farming. According to the Zim-Asset Policy- Zimbabwe has an abundance arable tracks of land, flora and fauna, sunlight and water which are the prerequisites for farming.
Geographical coverage: Our organisation covers all ten provinces of Zimbabwe, but most active in 6 provinces. We have chairpersons and executive teams in all provinces.
Project beneficiaries/by gender: By targeting women of all ages the young elderly and girls we are sweeping back into production, the able bodied and willing people of our economy and implementing the SADC protocol on gender equality and promoting national healing from the scourges of gender imbalances and gender based violence, this will also improve the standard of living of Zimbabwean women Farmers and avoiding excluding almost of the country’s population from economically contributing to the recovery of the economy of Zimbabwe for the betterment of the participants primarily.
In brief, our Organisation is addressing the Gender Equality issue.
Agenda in Agriculture and Rural Development: As a women organisation we always prioritise women and the girl child, women farmers are crying foul over marginalisation, discrimination against women farmers, we want to be looked upon. If you support a woman you know you have supported the whole nation, by excluding women we will be excluding half of the production part of the world population.
In addition, gender equality has always slowed down social, political and economic growth or any social change meant to move the communities forward.
It makes the much needed rising up from poverty more difficult especially for women and girls. Women should have equal access to property, employment, credit, land for resettlement and agriculture, public procurement, economic and political decision making positions. With the Ministry of Agriculture so far we are working on the areas of irrigation to sustain the rainfall pattern, the climate change is destroying our food security. We don’t want to rely on importing when we have land, what we want now is irrigation facilities, such as boreholes, drip irrigation and solar systems, tractors and its accessories.
If we have that, our food security will be boost. Our aim is to alleviate poverty through agriculture. Agriculture is the key sector for our economy if supported. That’s the areas we are collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter