Smallholder farmers use permaculture principles to increase harvest in dry regions

Samuel Morrison Dube (62) is a smallholder farmer working with the Zimbabwe Seed Sovereignty Programme (ZSSP) partner, Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre (FPC) in Matobo district, southern Zimbabwe. Like many farmers in Matobo, Samuel battles to produce enough food to feed his family because of climate change.

Despite the frequent droughts and extremely high temperatures experienced in Matobo, Samuel manages to produce adequate and diverse food on his half hectare plot where he grows groundnuts, sorghum, pearl millet, vegetables and fruit trees using permaculture principles.

“After many years of continuous farming, my fields were beginning to yield less because I was not doing anything to retain soil nutrients and soil moisture,” says Samuel.

Samuel says many farmers in his community farm this way because they do not have the knowledge to farm in harmony with nature. Samuel’s life turned around when he began to put into practice the knowledge and skills he gained when he participated in a permaculture training that was facilitated by FPC.

Samuel desperately wanted to harvest water for his fields.

“I constructed dead level contours around my fields so that the little rain that we received did not run off but was collected, sunk and spread within my fields. I also planted diverse indigenous and exotic fruit trees to increase food diversity,” says Samuel.

Matobo district, receives less than 400mm annual rainfall. The wet spells are short and many crops fail at critical stages due to moisture stress. Water harvesting, achieved through carefully observing the natural patterns and features found on the land, have helped Samuel to harvest enough food.

“My homestead is located by a hillside. I observed that during the rainy season a lot of decayed leaves and plant materials are washed down the hill. I decided to collect this humus and use it to add fertility to my soils. I noticed that adding humus increased the soil’s capacity to hold water,” says Samuel.

Samuel’s observations together with the application of permaculture practices have enabled him to make composts. He now uses compost materials to add soil fertility and increase his soils’ capacity to hold water.