Organic market garden ignites hope and promotes healthy eating

Gladys Makosa (61) is one of the women in Bindura district in Mashonaland central province who are taking part in the organic market garden project that was set up at Farmers Association of Community self–Help Investment Groups Trust (FACHIG) to promote heathy food. Photo: PELUM Zimbabwe.

By Mufaro Mupetesi (24)

The Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) struck Zimbabwe in early 2020, forcing the Government to impose strict measures to contain the virus. These measures restricted livelihood options because movements were controlled and markets were difficult to access. The situation quickly became dire especially for women, who traditionally shoulder the burden of preparing food for their families.

Realising this, I did what I could to alleviate the situation for a few women. I helped six women in Bindura set up an organic garden, working with Farmers Association for Community self-Help Investment Groups (FACHIG), a local organization working to strengthen livelihoods through promoting Agroecology.

This organic garden helped to kill several birds with one stone. The garden enabled the women to access healthy, safe and diverse foods produced at minimal costs both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it also helped them raise income as they were able to sell some of their produce.

Since its inception, the garden has morphed into a learning site for the community as more and more people are realising the importance of growing and eating good food that is not poisoned by pesticides and synthetic fertilisers.

Although we are recording some success in terms of improving the dietary needs of our community, awareness is not spreading fast enough, especially when we consider the fact that organic products are in competition with conventional products which are better resourced and produced in bulk. This makes our rate of penetrating the market with organic produce very slow.

Many people suffer from various ailments due to eating crops that have traces of chemicals, but they are not aware of this. If we had adequate resources to conduct wider educational campaigns to teach people about the importance of eating healthy food we could make real progress.

In addition, we also need to set up spaces where people can come to source organic produce so I am also hoping to strike an agreement with the local authorities and get a market space in Bindura.