Finger Millet Social Enterprise set to boost household food and nutrition security

Farmers, Agritex officers and traditional leaders inspect David Chinyamandani’s (65) finger millet field during a field visit in Gutu district, Masvingo province, southern Zimbabwe. David is a smallholder farmer working with Chinyika Community Development Trust. (CCDT). CCDT promotes finger millet production in Gutu district. Photo: Collins Chirinda/PELUM Zimbabwe

Smallholder farmers in Gutu district, Masvingo province are setting up a finger millet social enterprise. This enterprise comes after over a decade of work to revive growing, consumption and marketing of finger millet in Gutu by PELUM Zimbabwe member, Chinyika Community Development Trust (CCDT).

Vimbai Mlambo (62), one of the smallholder farmers from Gutu who is also one of the leading advocates for finger millet production in her community says the focus on finger millet production in Gutu was necessitated by the growing climate crisis.

“Farmers used to prioritise the cultivation of maize over finger millet. We had incessant droughts for successive years but continued planting maize, a little bit of finger millet and other small grains using industrial agricultural methods which worked against us but we ended up resolving to adopt finger millet as a staple crop because of its nutritional benefits and its tolerance to droughts,” says Vimbai.

Vimbai says her community was faced with food insecurity and malnutrition.

“People used to grow more maize which is less nutritious compared to finger millet. After we started producing our own finger millet using agroecology principles, there has been an increase in health and nutrition of the community,” says Vimbai.

Following the widespread adoption of finger millet in Gutu district, Charity Kwenzani (47), an Agritex officer working in Gutu district says more farmers have in Gutu district have increased finger millet production per hectare.

Paul Muchineripi (PhD) (74), founder and Director of CCDT has been working with farmers from 44 wards in Gutu district to promote growing of finger millet. Paul says the social enterprise will ensure availability of highly nutritious finger millet for local and national markets.

“The Gutu Finger Millet Social Enterprise will facilitate the setting up of a processing plant in Gutu and this will ensure that finger millet is available for the local and national markets,” says Paul.

Vimbai says she sees the Gutu Finger Millet Social Enterprise contributing to the improvement of livelihoods and food security for smallholder farmers in her community.