Mutasa Farmers Club project targets 600 women
DEVELOPMENT Aid from People to People has successfully registered more than 600 females in the Farmers Club project that was officially launched last week in Mutasa District.
The United Nations Environment Programme-funded initiative kicked off in February. It was funded to the tune of $100 000.
It is expected to end in February 2019. The FCs seeks to empower small-scale farmers to become food secure through capacity building.
This includes provision of the requisite farming knowledge and skills on modern methods which include conservation agriculture and agroforestry. DAPP targeted 1 000 small-scale farmers in wards 11 and 19 of Mutasa District, with 60 percent of them being women who are at the forefront in farming and food production in most communal areas.
The 1 000 farmers were divided into four groups of 250 people each where ongoing mentorship and training is being provided in production, consumption, marketing, environment, nutrition and health issues. They are also undergoing one-day trainings each month on conservation agriculture, focusing on crop rotation, mulching, composting and minimum soil disturbance for both cereal and horticultural crops.
Project leaders in the four groups provide theoretical farmers’ training, while extension officers from Agriex provide practical knowledge.
DAPP farming instructor Mr Struggle Muzavazi said: “Despite the contribution of males and females in this project being similar, we chose to have more women since they are at the forefront in farming and food production in most communal areas.
“Men seem to have a lot more to focus on than women. Our tar- get was 600 women, but we have already exceeded the number.
“To sustainably increase food production by preserving and improving soil fertility, this project is using conservation agriculture techniques like minimum or zero tillage, mulching and crop rotation. Farmers are being trained on knowledge and skills to use more efficient composting methods and horticultural production of targeted crops identified through market research. We have also established model fields to enhance assimilation of knowledge and adoption of targeted techniques in each of the project subclubs. The FCs concept also seeks to empower the targeted farmers with knowledge that will enable them to respond to the needs of their families and community, while increasing their income through inclusion in the integrated market economy. Farmers are exposed to general knowledge and skills within nutrition, health and community development, as an integrated part of the training,” said Mr Muzavazi.