Traditional grains curb hunger in Gutu district

Blessing Muchineripi (24) from Chinyika village in Gutu district, Masvingo province says indigenous chickens are an integral part of his agroecology system as they give him organic manure as well as control insects. Photo PELUM-ZWE

By Blessing Muchineripi

My name is Blessing Muchineripi and I am 24 years old. I grew up in Chinyika village in Gutu district, a rural district located in natural farming region IV which is characterised by low rainfalls and high temperatures.

From a tender age I observed that many farmers in my community were food insecure and relied on Government and donors each time when crops failed. I always thought that the persistent droughts were the cause of suffering for my people. Little did I know that conventional farming methods were at the root of their suffering. Farmers in my community dealt with food insecurity and declining livelihoods because they depended on external agricultural inputs that undermined soil health and were expensive.

The majority of farmers in Gutu district spent USD150 to buy seed, fertilisers and pesticides. Some farmers incurred additional costs by hiring draught power, which pushed farming expenses beyond their reach.

The year 2011 was a major turning point for my community. We suffered a double tragedy - losing money after buying external farming inputs and hunger as we watched helplessly our crops wilting.

At this point, one member of the community, Dr Jealous Muchineripi who had done research on farming systems in Gutu founded Chinyika Community Development Trust (CCDT), an organisation that sought to promote agroecology and encourage farmers in Gutu district to grow traditional grains which perform well in drought prone areas.

As a youth farmer, I got interested in the programmes and participated in some of the workshops organised by Chinyika Community Development Trust. After the training, my family and I started to grow traditional grains such as sorghum, finger millet and pearl millet.

These traditional grains have helped my family to be food secure and we have diversified into other related livelihood activities such as indigenous chicken farming. The indigenous chickens feed on traditional grains so we have adequate feed for the chickens because we produce excess traditional grains. We get manure to improve soil fertility and eat the meat and eggs. We also sell some chickens to earn income for expenses such as school fees. An average chicken costs USD7 in my community.

As the country continues to face ecological and economic challenges, agroecology is enabling me to generate income and to feed my family. Agroecology is transforming the lives of Chinyika villagers as they produce food in a cheaper and sustainable way.