Farmers feel drought sting, elephant herds destroy crops in Mbire

Mazowe North,Pembi Chase farmer, Billy Chifodya

 By Daniel Chigunwe

Several farmers in Zimbabwe are faced with one of the most grueling season after the skies have failed to give the precious rains to the scorched crops which are thinning due to prolonged exposure to the high temperatures whilst villagers in Mbire are wailing over the destruction of crop fields by marauding herds of furious elephants declaring hunger war to the province of Mashonaland Central.

The drought has even seen several districts from the agrarian province of Mashonaland Central extending a begging hand to the government to increase more food relief allocation with Guruve District already feeling the sting of this dry season.

The Media in Communities Development Trust this week visited young farmer, Billy Chifodya (22) of Plot Number 22 Pembi Chase farm, Mazowe North Constituency who expressed disappointment of this year’s season dryness saying his hope for a better future has been heavily compromised.

“It is quite a difficult farming experience for many of us farmers after the current season showed little mercy for us. We have been met with so many farming challenges with the failure of rains to come as the major excruciating reality.

“I had planted a considerable hectare of maize and tobacco which had a promising potential of making a bumper yield however with the drought I am actually seeing that I can now only harvest about 30 percent of the expected yield which is something disappointing for a young farmer like me,” he said.

This farming season has also been heavily affected by price hikes which have seen almost every commodity priced three times more than the original price with a 50kg bag of Compound D priced at $100 RTGS at one time affecting seasonal budgets by farmers.

“The other challenge which faced many of the farmers was the issue of price hikes which took effect at the beginning of the farming season that seriously affected us.

“ As farmers we do make our budgets before we start the season meaning when manufacturers hiked inputs prices we were not prepared for such hefty charges and in a way it inconvenienced us to a larger extent,” added Chifodya.

Meanwhile in Mbire district the remaining hope of a better season has been thwarted by elephants which are reportedly wreaking havoc in the field damaging the drought spared crops.

Villagers in Mbire and some parts of Muzarabani District have called for the urgent intervention of Problem Animals Control (PAC) and responsible government authorities to capacitate the tragedy as several fields are being ravaged by herd of furious elephants.

Also as measures to mitigate drought effects amid global climatic changes, Gwebi College of Agriculture has called for farmers to awaken to the call for conservative agriculture saying there is hope for increased yields if farmers apply CA as part of good agronomics practice.

Katswe Sistahood makes strides in Mbire girl child empowerment

Katswe Pachoto groups: Picture by Collen Magobeya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Daniel Chigunwe  

Kastwe Sistahood with support from Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) Zimbabwe has made a formidable impact in the Mbire District of Mashonaland Central where it is conducting several projects that have seen a reduction in the number of child marriages, empowerment of girl child education and equipping of local leaders with social accountability knowledge skills.   

 Mbire is one of the province’s district that has for a longtime been lagging behind almost all facets of human development until recently when different stakeholders among them the First Lady Mrs Auxillia Mnangwagwa, provincial leaders and Non -Governmental Organizations have scaled up efforts to transform the Dande area which also has numerous opportunities for eco-tourism. 

Katswe Sistahood is a young women’s organization which focuses on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) issues that affect women and girls by aiming to improve the information that communities have on SRHR whilst trying to understand the root causes of women’s plight with VSO work focusing on gender equality, improved health systems and support for people affected by HIV and AIDS. 

Fadziso Mawunganidze who is the organization’s Programmes Officer said their involvement in the district has made a considerable impact which has also seen a remarkable decline in the number of teen pregnancies. 

“Through action initiated by the Mbire project, girls affected by teen pregnancies are now back to school and there has been a decrease of girls dropping out of school in ward 8. Due to the redress of penalties, cases of child marriages have turned out to be lesser. 

“Also through peer education and basic counselling to their peers there has been an evident boost of confidence in young girls. The program has created a strong supportive family structure especially to girls affected by early marriages and teen pregnancies,” she said. 

The organization’s activities are a response to the worrying statistics on the provinces state of SRHR issues, “according to the 2017 Demographic Health Survey, Mashonaland Central has the lowest human development indicators and literacy level is very low thus when it comes participating in developmental process they are left out. 

“Mbire district has the highest number of child marriages perpetuated by a range of social, economic, cultural and political factors but fundamentally rooted in poverty and gender inequality. 

“ Child marriages have declined from 24 girls per year to two girls from 2017-2018 and at least three girls were readmitted to school in 2018 whilst they were pregnant and the other two young women wrote Ordinary Level exams whilst six of them are currently going for lessons,” said Mawunganidze. 

Meanwhile the organization is running a goat project in the area which has reached out to 275 young women who are in 11 groups of 25 people each, with the intent to provide economic empowerment and self- sustainability to the many of these young women. 

“As Katswe we have built the young women’s resilience in ward 8 and 10 so that they can be able to be confident when articulating issues that affect them when accessing health services. They have a goat rearing project that is helping them on their livelihoods and economic empowerment as they are now able to buy some of their groceries,” 

The young women’s organization is also carrying a range of activities among them, training of Junior Councilors, Chiefs and MPs, resilience meetings building capacities of communities to absorb stress and shock as well as quiz and debates at schools as a way of measuring growth in knowledge, abilities, skills and confidence building.

Guruve call for more drought relief food

By Daniel Chigunwe
Mashonaland Central, Guruve North district has hailed the president’s food relief program at a time when the drought spell has threatened hope for many farmers but has also called for the government to include various social groups as several households are now seriously affected by hunger and water woes.
Speaking in an interview during the maize handouts in Bakasa, Guruve North legislator Cde Grover Dzepasi said several people in the whole constituency have been hit by hunger and water problems following a prolonged period of high temperatures which are characterizing the country’s weather.
“I want to recognize the efforts by the president through the food relief program that has seen several people who are of the old age and those living with disabilities getting maize to alleviate hunger problems.
“Many people here have completely discarded hope from getting a reasonable yield from their fields, thus our appeal is that the scheme also starts recognizing the various social groups and become inclusive. Even the young families are in dire need of food as we speak.
“Also, Guruve is one of the places which is perennially affected by water problems and this time the problem has been worsened by the drought, people are having challenges to access water and it will be better if we get more borehole drilled here,” said Dzepasi.
Another Guruve villager from ward 20 Bakasa area said there is no more hope for the crops, “it is unfortunate that in our area the few crops that had survived are being invaded by the baboons. Many here have built in the mountains and have no more access to water as many wells have dried up,” said Riamu Kamuzonde.
Guruve has from time to time been affected by water challenges.