Sustainable Mushroom farming in Farmers Clubs

Sustainable Mushroom farming in Farmers Clubs

My name is Primrose Nyabadza and I am 30 years old. I am married with two children. My firstborn is a girl doing grade six and my second son is attending pre-school. I live in ward 19 Mvere village in Mutasa Central. My husband and I are self-employed.

My family relied heavily on farming for consumption and income. However, due to uneven weather patterns, in some seasons we would fail to have enough food to last us until the next farming season. As a family, we always wanted to start a family business but poor resources and capital limited us.

In 2020, the DAPP team then introduced us to mushroom production. My husband and I embraced the idea and raised small capital to kick start the project. Under proper guidance from DAPP that same year, my family started growing the grey oyster mushroom.

Teachings from DAPP guided us to first plant 8 kgs of mushrooms and my first harvest was 23kgs of mushrooms after 23 days. I grew my mushroom 3 days apart so that when its harvest time, I was able to harvest at least 3 times a week.

In total weekly, I harvest over 45kgs which I sell to local people and supermarkets. Some people purchase mushrooms at my house at a wholesale price of 0.50USD cents and a retail price of 1 USD per 200 grams.

The demand for mushrooms in my community is very high such that sometimes I fail to meet the demands due to a shortage of inputs. The highest amount I got from my mushroom business after three months was 500 USD.

The mushroom business helped us to bounce back on our feet after our house caught fire and everything in it was burnt to ashes. Using our profits we managed to buy all necessary property, blankets, clothes and food. Currently, I can pay my children’s school fees, improve food security and general upkeep at my house all because of the mushroom business.

Using some of my profits from mushroom production, I managed to join a fruit tree nursery group business of six female members who are my neighbours but the project is still in the initial stages. I am the group leader. We have varieties of fruit tree nurseries such as avocados, peaches, apples, pears and mangoes.

We hope to reach the expected 40 000 trees target we set and start selling the nurseries. Each tree will be priced at one dollar which will profit me and fellow group members. As the leader of the group, I have already started looking for more markets for our tree nurseries using the link from my mushroom business.

Post-Disaster Recovery project benefits 800 families

Post-Disaster Recovery project benefits 800 families

With support from Humana Spain, DAPP Zimbabwe is currently implementing the Humanitarian Action Post-Disaster Recovery and Disaster Risk Reduction in Malawi and Zimbabwe project in wards 6 and 9 of Chimanimani district in Manicaland Province.

The project works to improve the resilience of 800 families in communities affected by floods and drought by supporting socioeconomic recovery activities so that the affected families can get back on their feet with a renewed capacity to meet their basic needs.

Families who are mainly small-scale farmers are supported to organize themselves in community-based structures known as Farmer’s Clubs where they learn and share ideas on sustainable conservation farming, small livestock production, and water management techniques. Together they learn the basics of entrepreneurship, financial literacy, value chain development, and access to markets to enhance livelihood sustainability.

Improved cookstoves to reduce the effects of global warming

Improved cookstoves to reduce the effects of global warming

DAPP in Zimbabwe in partnership with C-Quest Capital is implementing a project of green energy through construction of firewood saving stoves (improved cook stove) for cooking in order to reduce the effects of global warming and climate change by reducing carbon emission in Manicaland province. The project is in line with the ongoing Climate Action where each country has to reduce carbon emission. The project is currently operating in Makoni, Mutasa and Chimanimani districts reaching out to 78 wards targeting 60,000 households. The project also aims at reducing carbon intake by humans to improve the health and well-being of women & children (most commonly the cooks of their households), by reducing exposure to toxic off-gassing and dangerous matter in biomass smoke. The project will play a pivotal role in the reduction of deforestation, land degradation thereby promoting conservation of environment.

Embracing Vocational Skills training for sustained livelihood

Embracing Vocational Skills training for sustained livelihood

My name is Tatenda Maunde and I am a 22 year old young man from Mt Darwin. I wrote my form four in 2020 and passed six Ordinary Level subjects but due to financial constraints, I could not continue with my education. I had lost hope for the future.

I was introduced to vocational education training by a friend who had just completed short courses at Ponesai Vanhu Technical College (PVTC). I used to think that only students with lower grades were the ones placed in TVET schools but later on, I realized that those who graduates from such schools were getting opportunities since their skills were meeting market labour demands. I then made up my mind and enrolled for a Tourism and Hospitality long course at PVTC.

I got training on the baking business, making business plans, creating strong client base and social media marketing. Although I am looking forward to finishing my studies, I understand the high unemployment rate among young people in Zimbabwe. Therefore, our training is heavily centered on entrepreneurship skills training for self -employment and I hope to get together with other students to start our own bakery. I believe that there is need for vocational schools to engage industry experts as guests’ instructors to improve student’s skills in line with labour demands.

I want to call upon the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education to establish Youth Employment Clubs, where current students, graduates from different careers and company representatives to allow for continued learning and sharpening of critical soft skills, such as planning, negotiation, and communication.

 

 

Equalize – tackle AIDS inequalities

Equalize – tackle AIDS inequalities

Inequalities which perpetuate the AIDS pandemic are many and act as barriers to fighting AIDS the epidemic; we can tackle them. World AIDS Day, 1 December, theme: “Equalize” is drawing attention to addressing the HIV and AIDS challenges stumbling progress.

In Humana People to People, we have been and continue addressing the inequalities holding back progress to end AIDS by 2030. We have been part of fighting HIV and AIDS since 2000 and our efforts over the past two decades impacted 22 million people.

The world has only eight years left before the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a global health threat. Economic, social, cultural and legal inequalities must be addressed as a matter of urgency. In a pandemic, inequalities exacerbate the dangers for everyone. The end of AIDS can only be achieved if efforts tackle the inequalities which drive it.

“We can end AIDS – if we end the inequalities which perpetuate it. This World AIDS Day we need everyone to get involved in sharing the message that we will all benefit when we tackle inequalities,” says UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “To keep everyone safe, to protect everyone’s health, we need to Equalize.”

According to UNAIDS, globally 38.4 million people were living with HIV, 1.5 million acquired new HIV infection and 650 000 people lost life from AIDS-related illnesses in 2021. Every week, around 4 900 young women aged 15–24 years become infected with HIV. In 19 high-burden countries in Africa, dedicated combination prevention programmes for adolescent girls and young women are operating in only 40% of the high HIV incidence locations.

Data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result. Four decades into the HIV response, inequalities still persist for the most basic services like testing, treatment, and condoms, and even more so for new technologies.

Our health projects focus on the biggest health challenges, among them to get Total control of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Our HIV and AIDS programme Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE) is based on person-to-person mobilization of people for HIV testing, referral for treatment and support for those on treatment so that they never miss it.

In alignment with the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets to end AIDS by 2030, our members help people to know and understand their HIV status. People who test HIV positive receive the sustained treatment they need, with the ultimate aim of suppressing the virus.

In the past year, TCE, operated by our member DAPP Zambia, mobilized and reached 334 342 people with HIV prevention messages and other HIV interventions. From the total people reached 76 796 were tested for HIV, 21 247 were diagnosed HIV+, and 98% of the people diagnosed with HIV were supported to start HIV treatment.

People living with HIV are more likely than others to become sick with TB. Worldwide, TB is one of the leading causes of death among people living with HIV. Without treatment, as with other opportunistic infections, HIV and TB can work together to shorten lifespan. Our TCE programme has been so successful that the method behind it is being used to detect cases of TB, and to support people infected with the disease to get treatment and complete it until they have been cured.

For the past 15 years, our member ADPP Mozambique has been implementing community-based TB projects in cooperation with the Ministry of Health impacting 1 million people every year. A major focus of TB response is on TB prevention, active TB case finding, contact tracing, adherence to medication and treatment completion.

World AIDS Day remains as relevant today as it’s always been, reminding people and governments that HIV has not gone away. All of us, everywhere, must do all we can to help tackle AIDS inequalities.

Embracing Conservation Farming

Embracing Conservation Farming

 

My name is Esnath Nyabadza and I am a 24-year-old young woman farmer from Ward 19 Moyoweshumba village in Mutasa District. I am a member of DAPP Farmers’ Clubs where I am learning conservation farming, smart agriculture and rearing of small livestock for improved food security, nutritional health and income.
I participated in DAPP demonstration plots on conservation farming where I learnt different techniques such as mulching, potholing, intercropping and the use of manure. From each of these techniques, I learnt a hands-on skill and how it promotes crop growth. The demonstration plots were my classroom and I replicated everything in my fields.
My production increased from getting five bags of maize to 14 which is enough for my family till the next harvesting season. I am even selling excess produce at the local marketplace and use the money to buy basic commodities. Budget lessons taught me the best ways to spend and save money something which is helping in boosting my other projects. I hope to continue producing more and expand my market linkages. However, there is very little to none in terms of support given by local government authorities to position local smallholder farmers well so that they can compete with large-scale farmers and imports. The trade imbalance is more acute for certain kinds of agricultural produce. There is, therefore, a need to encourage and enforce local content by laws tailored for the benefit of local women and smallholder farmers. The Local Content Strategy (LCS) is a strategy that can be used to encourage local value addition through localization of supply chains. It is my hope that the strategy will create economic linkages and business opportunities for local entrepreneurs. However, there is a need to implement a local project that focuses on market linkages and specifically identifies value chain roles that can attract youth to be active participants in local agricultural value chains. Looking to the future, I hope to see more women access new markets through group selling within Farmers’ Clubs and linkages to agricultural value chains. The DAPP model is one such model which can assist us with market linkages. I implore the Ministry of agriculture and food security and other relevant partners such as DAPP to continue supporting smallholder youth farmers with linkages to financial service providers that support women’s agriculture activities.