A new project aimed at building the resilience of communities in Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe, to climate change has been launched. The Building adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities to climate change in Chimanimani District project, implemented by Development Aid from People to People Zimbabwe (DAPPZ) in partnership with Civil Society in Development (CISU) through UFF-Humana, will target 1,000 smallholder farmers and their families in wards 13 and 21 in Chimanimani District.
The project seeks to promote climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry, and biodiversity, as well as strengthen the transformative capacities of the community and local authorities to adapt to climate change. It will also enhance market linkages for smallholder farmers and promote evidence-based advocacy and cross-learning among stakeholders.
Chimanimani District is one of the areas most vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change in Zimbabwe. The district has experienced a surge in climate-related disasters, including Cyclones Idai and Freddy, floods, and droughts, which have inflicted severe damage to infrastructure, agricultural livelihoods, and human settlements.
The project is expected to contribute to strengthening the partners’ efforts to build adaptive capacity to climate change among the local population, strengthen their resilience to climate shocks, and enhance the community’s advocacy abilities.
“We are committed to supporting vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe to adapt to the impacts of climate change,” said DAPP Zimbabwe Programs Director Ruth Makumbe. “This project is a testament to our partnership with CISU through UFF Humana and our shared commitment to creating a positive impact in the lives of smallholder farmers and their families”.
The project is funded by Civil Society in Development (CISU) and is expected to run for 24 months.
My name is Varaidzo Makotose and I am a 63-year-old widowed lady with six children, three of whom are adults and three still in school. I reside in Ward 12, Chivi District, Masvingo Province, an area that is naturally dry as it falls in natural Region 4. Despite the challenges of dry climatic conditions in Chivi, I have always been fascinated by farming as a business. In 2021, I enrolled in Farmers’ Clubs Chivi being financially supported by GAIA USA to increase my knowledge. I participated in climate-smart agriculture practices, financial literacy and market linkages facilitated by DAPP in collaboration with AGRITEX.
DAPP supported me and other smallholder farmers with smart agriculture training and then supplied us with garden inputs start-up packs. I started applying concepts like mulching, organic manure, crop rotation and natural pesticides which improved my garden productivity significantly. Before, I used to sell a maximum of 10kgs of vegetables per week which has now grown significantly to 60kg realizing $60 monthly income.
I sell vegetables to walk-in customers at the garden and sometimes put up stall at Chivi growth point during open local market sales days. I have started discussing with Chibi and Berejena boarding high schools to supply them with vegetables.
By diversifying my crops, I have reduced dependence on a single crop and increased resilience to market fluctuations. With my profits, I am now able to pay my children’s school fees on time and purchase extra food items like cooking oil, sugar and supplementary mealie-meal since our 2023-2024 field crop production was affected by cyclone El Nino-induced drought.
My name is Sophia Makanyanga (47) and I am a smallholder farmer based in Mvere C village in Ward 19, Mutasa district. As a smallholder farmer, I faced numerous challenges in accessing capital to grow my business, despite my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, financial freedom and improved economic status.
However, my life took a turn for the better with the introduction of the Farmers’ Clubs concept by DAPP Zimbabwe with financial support from GAIA USA in 2021. The project brought a wealth of knowledge on smart agriculture, vegetable production, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. I was further introduced to the concept of Internal Savings and Lending (ISAL) groups, aimed at empowering women and smallholder farmers like myself.
Initially, I was skeptical about pooling resources and unsure about the club life promoted by DAPP. I struggled to make ends meet and my entrepreneurial spirit was hindered by limited access to capital. However, after understanding the benefits of club life, I became one of the founding members of the first ISAL group in our area consisting of 15 people.
I used income from selling garden vegetables to pay the $20 joining fee. With guidance from an extension officer and DAPP field officer, Calvin Guruve, I gained the confidence to start with locally available resources. Our ISAL group, with a guiding constitution and committee agreed that each member would contribute $10 a month and could also borrow money at a 10% interest rate. I borrowed $70 to start vending clothes and persevered increasing my garden production to raise enough income to cover the monthly interest.
By year-end, our group had raised USD $2,000 which was shared equally among members. I used my share to buy irrigation pipes, making it easier to water my garden. I am thrilled that our group remains intact and thriving providing a sustainable source of financial support for farmers like me. Through this experience, I have learnt the value of collective action and access to affordable credit in overcoming financial barriers as a smallholder farmer.
My name is Simba Mboma and I am a 48-year-old farmer from Svondo village in Chivi District, Zimbabwe. Throughout my life, I always practised subsistence farming, where I grew crops only for household consumption with barely anything to sell. However, I always desired to generate extra income but lack of knowledge and skills held me back. As the breadwinner of my family, I would take on piece jobs in my community to supplement my income averaging $60 a month which was not adequate to support my family.
My life changed when I enrolled in Farmers’ Club Chivi in September 2021 where I received training on smart agriculture and its three principles: potholing, mulching and crop rotation. I implemented these techniques in my 1ha field and 0.1ha garden and also substituted chemical fertilizers with organic manure from my Chinese, vermi and heap composts on my pieces of land. I started with 900 tomato plants in my garden and realised an income of about $600usd translating to a profit of $400 after subtracting input costs. This year, I expanded my garden land from 0.1 to 0.2 hectares and planted 2,000 cabbage heads using capital of $400 and I am anticipating a minimum yield worth USD 1,000. Despite the challenges posed by Cyclone El Nino-induced drought, I am confident in my ability to provide for my family.
My garden crop production increased as I also leveraged the symbiosis between crops and livestock by using animal manure for my crops. I also started producing seasonal vegetables like onions out of season to capitalize on market supply gaps in my community which helped me increase my income and profits. I sell these my produces to walk-in customers and nearby schools. I have already started to benefit an improved standard of living for my household as we now access improved food and nutrition as well as afford other services like education and health.
Despite the challenges posed by Cyclone El Nino-induced drought, I’m confident in my ability to provide for my family’s nutrition, food and income security through farming. My success is a testament to the impact of DAPP’s initiatives, which have empowered me with the skills and knowledge to thrive in sustainable agriculture. By sharing my experiences and expertise, I hope to inspire others to adopt climate-resilient farming methods, boost their yields and improve their livelihoods. Together, we can build a more food-secure and sustainable future for our communities.
As we mark the World Environment Day, we are excited and proud to announce the release of our film: Building Community Resilience Against Climate Change Impact. The film is based on one of our members, DAPP Zimbabwe’s Farmers’ Clubs Chivi project showing our commitment to tackle challenges and threats resulting from climate change in communities Farmers’ Clubs Chivi project works together with that are hardest hit in the semi-arid region of Zimbabwe.
Fight off climate change to conserve nature is at the top of our agenda as Humana People to People together with our 29 members. Our Farmers’ Clubs programmes in three continents (Africa, Asia and Latin America) reaches out to more than 354,000 farmers annually, targeting communities where the impact of climate change is felt the most, threatening to reverse adaptative progress and to weaken community resilience. We bring people together to identify challenges induced by climate change and support the people to build adaptive capacity using locally led climate actions, a key part of our Humana People to People response.
Since 1996, our member DAPP Zimbabwe has carried out the Farmers’ Clubs programme and has trained more than 60 000 farmers a numerous force to be reckoned with. Zimbabwe like any other places in the world has not been spared from the impact of climate change which has seen more farmers losing yields and livestock as result of depending on rainfed agriculture.
In 2021, DAPP Zimbabwe started Farmers’ Clubs Chivi project in Masvingo Province to accelerate the development of climate resilient livelihoods and ecosystems for 1500 small holder farmers through adopting climate smart conservation agriculture, biodiversity conservation and sustainable environmental management. The project is supports smallholder farmers to create income, food and nutrition security while reducing environmental and ecosystems degradation including biodiversity loss.
The Building Community Resilience Against Climate Change Impact film reflects on the realities smallholders farmers are facing and the climate actions they carryout out to better adapt to climate change impact. Community cohesion shown in the film demonstrates the power of our people-to-people way of bringing people together to forge transformative paths towards building strengthened community climate change resilience.
We invite you to watch the Farmers’ Club Chivi Film on this link: https://bit.ly/3X5imny
