Courage Dutiro
At a time when the world is calling for sustainable agricultural practices, women in Zvamahande area in ward 33 of Masvingo West constituency have said the use of organic manure and solar-powered borehole is the recipe behind high agricultural productivity of their community garden.
Organic agriculture is reported to be a climate change resilient farming system that promotes proper management of soil, water, biodiversity and local knowledge.
Ebenezer community garden chairperson Essilinah Madzvamuse said they use organic manure to feed their crops and it is yielding good results.
“We use domesticated animal waste and decayed tree leaves (murakwani) to feed our crops in the garden. A solar-powered borehole installed by Centre for Gender and Community Development in Zimbabwe (CDCGZ) is used to water the plants. We have a variety of vegetables and plants in the garden. We have carrots, rape, covo, and maize. We are also planning to use the other part of the garden for banana and sugarcane planting,” said Madzvamuse.
Sustainable Development Goal number 2 targets to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
One of the women said because of quality and quantity of the organic vegetables, they wish to supply supermarkets such as OK.
“We wish to supply our green vegetables to supermarkets such as OK (Tinotoshuwira kuendesa kwaOK),” she said.
Organic manure is among the nature-based solutions that help to preserve and conserve the ecosystems rather than chemical fertilizers which can easily be washed into the streams damaging marine life and water quality as well as disrupting the ecosystems.
In rural areas, community gardens are a way of coping with climate change shocks.
Climate change and agriculture are closely linked and interdependent.
In various rural areas, community garden farmers are mainly women who are also most affected by climate change and food shortages.
State of peace report 2021 shows, the year 2022 is characterized by food insecurities due to poor rainfall.
“2022 will be characterized by food insecurity. Community members felt that there was no adequate water supply hence most people would not be able to grow enough food for them,” read part of the report.
