Farmer trainings position farmers for success in dry regions

Anastacia Ncube (69) lives in Gwanda district, Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe with her husband and 11 children. Anastacia is a smallholder farmer working with PELUM member, Practical Action under the Resilience Enhanced through Agricultural Productivity (REAP) project. Anastacia is receiving training in sustainable agricultural practices. She now produces sufficient food for her family. Photo: Innocent Katsande/Practical Action

PELUM Zimbabwe member, Practical Action is working with smallholder farmers in Gwanda District in Matabeleland South Province. The area falls under agroecological region 5, a persistently dry area characterised by frequent droughts. Through the Resilience Enhanced through Agricultural Productivity (REAP) project, Practical Action is capacitating farmers in the area with knowledge and skills for resilience.

Anastacia Ncube (69), a mother of 11 children, is a smallholder farmer who lives in Zhukwe village in Gwanda District. Anastacia takes care of her family’s needs using income derived from growing and selling sorghum, groundnuts, cowpeas and pumpkins. But, persistent droughts and crop failure during the last two farming seasons had reduced her capacity to produce enough food to feed her family.

“The dire situation that I have faced with my family and witnessed in the community pushed me to the brink of despair, seeing neighbours suffering from hunger and also not being able to produce food, for a long time we have always known we needed to try something different,” says Anastacia.

The REAP project provided Anastacia with the platform and support she needed to learn how to maximise food production in a harsh climate. Anastacia is now one of the champion smallholder farmers being trained on a variety of sustainable farming and conservation methods by Practical Action under the REAP project.

“I'm excited to be part of the training project on better methods of farming introduced by Practical Action and I hope to train others in my community and become more successful as a champion farmer,” says Anastacia.

“Although REAP only started last year, I have already acquired knowledge and skills on the Internal Savings and Lending Scheme (ISALs) … I am more financially independent … I am now able to borrow small loans from the group, manage them well and return the money while growing my farming project, ” says Anastacia.

Anastacia has set her vision and targets for the 2018/2019 farming season. She intends to increase her production and expand her market in order to grow her income.