Gutu small scale farmers celebrate seed

[From left] Vimbiso Tarwireyi (46) and Doreen Kudejira (46) from Chimanimani district. Dressed in an orange t-shirt is Roderick Warakula (38) from Harare. Smallholder farmers brought their seeds to Gutu to exchange and sell. They are working with PELUM Zimbabwe members and ZSSP partners to preserve and promote traditional seeds. Photo: PELUM Zimbabwe.

The Food and Seed Festivals held by PELUM Zimbabwe enable small scale farmers to network, share agroecology knowledge and trade traditional seeds. The festival programmes celebrate traditional seed and food with music, drama, dialogues, cooking demonstrations, stories from the field, seed swapping, and activities for children.

“Exchanging seeds gives us an opportunity to attain new seed varieties that we do not have,” says Juliet Hove (57), a married smallholder farmer from Gutu district.

Juliet, who has been growing, saving and exchanging traditional seeds since 2015, explains the benefits.

“We keep traditional seeds because they are not expensive to buy. You just keep the seeds from your yield. From the seeds, we get a nutritious diet,” explains Juliet.

Juliet says that the seeds provide her with the grains needed to make sadza, which is a staple food in Zimbabwe. Sadza is a thickened porridge commonly made with white maize (corn) meal that is served with meat, vegetables or legumes. She also grows sunflowers so that she can make cooking oil from the seeds.

A Spirit Medium, Fadzai Musungu (85) who participates in the Food and Seed Festivals says, “I see myself as a custodian of the seed and l wish to take this to my next generation.” She tells of the rituals that are performed.

“After our first harvest we take our harvest to the chief before we start eating it. We also practice the Mukwerera rain making ceremony. This ceremony is done to appease the ancestors so that we will have rains,” says Fadzai.

Cosmas Goneso (40), who is the Headman in ward 35 in Gutu district under chief Nyamande, describes the Mukwerera ceremony.

“Mukwerera is done using finger millet. Old women brew beer and leave it to ferment for seven days before it's drunk. After seven days people celebrate and drink beer. They then leave a clay pot of drink for the ancestors to drink. And it used to rain after this,” says Headman Goneso.

Cosmas says the seed festival has improved relationships among farmers so that they work together sharing seeds and knowledge on how to keep traditional seeds. He supports holding more food and seed festivals because they bring unity among communities from different wards.

“It increases seed varieties to our farmers and it gives every farmer an opportunity to participate during the festival. It is flexible for everyone,” says the Headman.