Zimbabwe’s 35 day lock-down has robbed farmers of their income as markets remain closed with some being demolished to pave way for a new trading system which is yet to be defined.
Tracy Simango (52) is a smallholder farmer from Wedza in Mashonaland East province. She grows vegetables, tomatoes and other perishable produce. She and her husband now battle to care for their family including the orphans under their care.
“There is no market because all the market places are closed. People are just indoors so marketing is becoming a problem for us,” says Tracy. She is forced to watch her months of labour rot away.
“Most of our produce is in the compost. We cannot to give our neighbours because they have their own vegetable gardens,” says Tracy.
Tracy is concerned. She fears losing more produce. “I have nearly a hectare of sweet potatoes almost ready for selling. But there is no market or transport. There are a lot of things in my garden but I don’t know what to do with them,” she says.
Post-harvest losses are common among small-holder farmers. Very little investment has been directed towards reducing post-harvest losses. This year, farmers will lose more than they will sell. “If we had driers maybe we could have preserved our produce,” says Tracy.
The complexity of the lock-down is evident on Tracy’s farm. Tracy’s is no longer able to pump water for her crops. She says traveling to buy fuel to power her generator is a problem.
“Our produce is drying in the field. We are now forced to water using buckets. There is nowhere to get fuel and where there is fuel they want payment in United States Dollars. I have no access to US dollars,” says Tracy.
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