ZAPPA hosts an agroecology learning visit in Shashe

Shashe Agroecology School is located in Masvingo Province and is comprised of households who have created Agroecology centers of excellence in their homesteads. The look and learn tour was organised by The Zimbabwe Alliance for the Practice and Promotion of Agroecology (ZAPPA) which is coordinated by PELUM Zimbabwe Members, Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre and Practical Action. One of the major stumbling blocks of Advocacy work for agroecology has been lack of adequate evidence and Shashe Agroecology School among other things showcases evidence of agroecology. Photo: Theophilus Mudzindiko / PELUM Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Alliance for the Practice and Promotion of Agroecology (ZAPPA) hosted an Agroecology learning visit to showcase the practice of Agroecology to various stakeholders and to develop a collective strategy aimed at upscaling Agroecology in Zimbabwe.

The two-day learning visit was held on 01 and 02 December 2020 at the Shashe Agroecology School in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe. More than 43 participants representing farmers, civil society organisations, government departments, donors and journalists participated in the learning visit.

Speaking at the learning visit, Edwin Mazhawidza, one of the coordinators of ZAPPA noted that there is need to clarify what stakeholders call Agroecology.

Edwin said for a farmer to be deemed to be practicing Agroecology their farming system must have at least six elements - diversity, resilience, recycling, networks, synergies and efficiency.

“We decided to visit Shashe because they have been practicing Agroecology for a long time. The purpose of the visit was to show some practical Agroecological principles on the ground. We were also trying to demonstrate how to integrate Agroecology into pfumbvudza. So we took several stakeholders including government officials and the media so that we can have publicity and also for them to see the practicality of Agroecology on the ground, “says Edwin.

Elizabeth Mpofu, one of the farmers working with the Shashe Agroecology School and the General Coordinator of La Via Campesina hailed Agroecology as the solution to reviving culture, seed, food and agriculture systems of local people.

The visit included a tour of four homesteads within the Shashe Agroecology School where Agroecology is being practiced as well as a discussion on potential ways of upscaling Agroecology.

“The tour was an eye opener on Agroecology in Zimbabwe and how it can improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Farmers in Shashe have turned a semi-arid arid area into arable land. They are actually putting all the principles of Agroecology into practice and are growing small grains, pulses, keeping fish, pigs, chickens and doing many other things, making a living from it,” says Farai Katsiga, one of the stakeholders who participated in the tour.