Agroecology catapults farmers into a vibrant livelihood project

Guilter Shumba (52), has been practicing agroecology since 2015 on the family’s two-hectare plot. Guilter and her husband Benedict Shumba (59) work closely with Muonde Trust in Zvishavane District. Photo: Collins Chirinda/PELUM Zimbabwe

Benedict Shumba (59) and his wife, Guilter Shumba (52) recall the days when they used to struggle to produce adequate food for their family. For Benedict, the thought of producing abundant food from the family’s two hectare plot was too good to be true.

Benedict says it was when he joined the agroecology training sessions held by PELUM Zimbabwe member, Muonde Trust that things began to change for the better. Benedict learned various techniques to harvest water during the rainy season and to manage it after.

“My wife and I were introduced to agroecology in 2015. We immediately applied water harvesting techniques in our crop field to address perennial water shortages. We also planted traditional grains. That year we got a bumper harvest,” says Benedict.

Benedict says the success on their crop field motivated them to want to apply more agroecology techniques and to do this in their garden. The two wanted to have abundant water all year round to enable them to produce diverse crops. Benedict and Guilter dug a small well but it dried out because the water table was low.

“Muonde Trust trained us on water harvesting. We used the knowledge and skills gained from the training to construct a small dam and to establish dead level contours. This enabled us to harvest more water and to slow down its flow to increase water infiltration and to raise the water table,” says Guilter.

Having sufficient water all year round has enabled Benedict and Guilter to grow diverse crops such as kale, chomolia, rape, onions, tomatoes, maize and fruit trees which they sell to community members and local markets in Zvishavane.

Daniel Ndlovu (34) is Muonde Trust Research Officer. Daniel says the work done by Muonde Trust shows that agroecology can feed the world now and in the future.

“When we trained this family, we equipped them with knowledge and skills to establish dead level contours and infiltration pits. These techniques have transformed their agriculture and now they are an example of the level of sustainability that can be attained through agroecology,” he says.