Dear colleagues,
It has taken us eight days to reach out to you after our Government called for a 21-day lockdown starting on 30 March 2020. We sincerely apologise for not connecting with you much earlier. Like many organisations, the lockdown is affecting our operations and there is generally a sense of paralysis nationwide as different stakeholders try to respond to COVID-19.
As PELUM Zimbabwe, we recognise the gravity of this global pandemic which has claimed thousands of lives across the globe. We also recognise that we are part of the Earth Community and therefore connected to all forms of life on planet Earth.
We take the responsibility to coordinate, share lessons, network and deepen the learning around COVID-19 in Zimbabwe targeting directly our constituency comprising of civil society organisations working with smallholder farmers to feed the nation by producing food using farming methods that are in harmony with nature.
We are cognizant of the fact that the bulk of food consumed by both urban and rural dwellers is produced by smallholder farmers. Most of this food is sold at farmers’ markets such as Mbare Musika in Harare, Sakubva Market in Mutare and Kudzanai Market in Gweru - just to mention a few. Our work since 1995 has informed us that farmers’ markets are key sources of livelihoods among smallholder farmers and that the bulk of Zimbabweans living in rural and urban areas buy their food directly from farmers or vendors who source food from farmers. We therefore recognise farming and the selling of farm produce by farmers as one of the essential services.
We stand in solidarity with smallholder farmers on the continent and Zimbabwe in particular whose lives and livelihoods are being affected by the lockdown. We call for the Government to put in place legal measures that protect farmers rather than criminalise them as they participate in the feeding of the nation during the COVID-19 crisis. While we seek revision of the lockdown regulations, we call for the nation of Zimbabwe to stand strong and united as we work together to restore hope to our nation.
In the coming week we will be consulting our membership and stakeholders so that we join forces and pave a clear strategy to respond to this COVID-19.
I sincerely look forward to working with you as we join forces to respond to this global pandemic.
Yours sincerely,
Gertrude Pswarayi-Jabson
Country Coordinator
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