Many rural women struggle to care for their families when their husbands die. These women are trapped in a farming system that heavily depends on chemicals. The knowledge, skills and a sense of connecting with the land, rivers, seeds and other forms of life vital for supporting the health of the ecosystem has been eroded. Rural women say they cannot feed their families, provide basic needs and withstand the adverse effects of climate change.
Anna Ndemo (60) is a smallholder farmer from Chimanimani district. Anna says her husband made all the decisions for the family. This included how they produced their food. Anna’s husband used the little resources they had to buy farming inputs. Each year he would buy hybrid maize seed, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. But Anna says her family never had enough food despite spending many hours tilling the land.
When her husband died Anna’s vulnerability was exposed. She struggled to provide food for her six children. Anna had the strength to plough but lacked the seeds to plant.
Anna’s story took a turn when two women from her community came to her rescue. They shared traditional seeds with Anna.
“I was given red and white sorghum seed to grow in my field,” says Anna.
The women also shared with her open pollinated maize seed and other traditional seeds. Anna says she has been growing and saving these seeds since 2014.
Anna is convinced that traditional seeds are a panacea to food insecurity caused mainly by farmers’ heavily depending on external farming inputs and the changing climate.
“I keep my own seed. I don’t go to buy seed from the store. When the first rains come I don’t start worrying about where to get seed,” says Anna.
Among other crops, Anna grows tamarillo, pumpkins and sesame.
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