by dapp | Jul 26, 2024 | Blog, News
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.
by dapp | Jun 5, 2024 | Blog, News
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
