Beverly Bizeki
The sky is the limit for 28 year-old Mary Matigimu who is the Agriculture Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Scheme Business Manager for Fuve Panganai Irrigation Scheme in Zaka district of Masvingo as she thrives to be a force to reckon within the Agriculture sector.
Despite facing resistance for being a female and young, Matigimu says she has grown bold so as to handle all the challenges that come with being a manager of 352 farmers at the irrigation Scheme.
Matigimu says one of the major challenges found in her area of operation is resistance from older people due to her younger age and thus some tend to disregard her orders as they look down-upon her.
“As a female manager, it’s not easy to work with elderly people. It’s hard especially with our model which needs continuous learning of the climatic changes.
“There are a lot of questions and resistance from the farmers such that one is tempted to quit but I’m not giving up,” said Matigimu.
A holder of a degree in Agriculture, she said in order to be successful in irrigation farming, she makes sure she imparts knowledge to farmers while at the same time learning and getting experience from them.
“I listen to them because they have experience as they have been here since the establishment of the scheme but due to other factors like climate change, they lack knowledge on mitigation measures to cope up with the reality.
“I have held leadership positions since primary school up to university level where I was a student representative for our faculty, so I believe in achieving in higher leadership roles,” she said.
Matigimu who is a mother of three said being a lady comes with its pressure but has to endure working overtime in order to create a balance between work and social life.
Asked why she chose agriculture when most women seem to not be interested in farming, Matigimu said she has a farming background and always treated the duty as her best hobby,”
“My father is a farmer and I grew up with an appreciation that through farming you can have a variety of food on the table and you can earn money.
“I have a desire to upgrade my skills in Agriculture and it is still my desire for the country to benefit in terms of food security and income generation,” she added.
In a society where males look down upon female leadership, culture remains a challenge to women in leadership but for Matigimu has defied the odds proving this can be properly handled.
“When dealing with farmers to avoid inconveniences, I dress suitably, like putting on a wrapper (wrapping cloth) to show hunhu,” said Matigimu.
Currently the scheme has wheat planted during winter and is ready for harvesting while maize crops have already been planted as well.
Government aims at ensuring food security, reduce communities’ vulnerability to effects of climate change in form of persistent droughts affecting farmers in ecological farming regions 4 and 5 through irrigation farming as well as revitalizing the schemes where some are in need of rehabilitation.
