Farmers pin hopes on village banks

BULILIMA farmers in Matabeleland South province have embarked on the village savings and lending (VSL) programmes, a development meant to mitigate the effects of an El Nino-induced drought.

Sisonke Working Together Trust director Themba Phiri revealed that his organisation is assisting the farmers with the programme which is set to benefit about 100 farmers in the ward.

“A group of 100 farmers in Bulilima Tokwana and Tjehanga areas have come together to set up VSLs. This is a drought mitigation strategy as most crops are now at temporary and permanent wilting stages,” Phiri said.

“After visiting these areas, we found farmers having converged to contribute subscriptions for their banks. This money will be used to come up with income-generating projects during the impending drought. These types of interventions might save farmers from hunger.”

One of the founding members Musa Sophie said the village banks were their hope for survival.

“If you want food, you are able to go to the group and borrow money from our village bank with minimum interest. We are grateful that Sisonke Working Together Trust came up with this to counter the effects of drought,” Sophie said.

Another villager only identified as Mrs Khumalo from Tjehanga said they wanted to buy a peanut butter making machine which was set to benefit women in the area.

Sisonke Working Together Trust is reaching out to over 300 communal farmers and local schools in the rural and urban areas of Matabeleland South and Bulawayo provinces assisting them in livelihood and resilience building and climate adaptive strategies to avert food shortages.

Phiri said the programme was attracting interest from a lot of farmers.

In another programme in Bulawayo, Phiri said the trust was working with communities on the waste management front in Makokoba and Mzilikazi.

“The programme has gained some traction as most of the communities now know the price of littering and the release of toxic gases which culminate in climate change such as huge fines by the Environmental Management Agency. In a bid to leverage and promote environmental awareness, Sisonke Working Together Trust has gone a notch higher by turning all illegal dumping areas into food gardens,” Phiri said.

Matabeleland South province has continued to experience a recurrence of droughts since the 1980s amid calls by agricultural experts for farmers to resort to smart agriculture.