Takawira Photoveteran Dapi

Many rural women are doing all they can to make sure that they are beneficiaries of one food aid scheme or another to survive the El Nino-induced drought.

Christine Matsika Masuku, 36, of Buka Village, Ward 5 Makwarimba, Chief Svosve is not one of them. She says the escalating price of maize, which remains the staple for most rural families - will not affect her family.

“Of course this year 2024, maize is the diamond of the day because of the drought. But whatever price a bucket of maize costs, I know I can afford it as I will be barter-trading my garden products with maize,” says Christine, fondly known as Mai Masuku by her clients.

Mai Masuku grows different vegetables, including leaf greens, okra, potatoes and onions, which she sells to people in her community and at Hwedza Growth Point, which is just 3km from her home.

She also grows cucumbers and watermelons and so has a diverse basket to offer her clients.

She says she turned to market gardening after realising that depending on harvests from the rain-fed annual agricultural season was no longer viable. 

“After discovering that the droughts are now yearly in Hwedza, I turned to horticultural farming to keep hunger away from my family,” said Mai Masuku.

But together with her husband, Mai Masuku was soon to discover that market gardening offers more than basic survival as the cash comes in daily.

 “From the amount we make each day, it means weekly we make the same with those earning Friday wages in formal employment,” she said.

Mai Masuku said maybe they are even better off because the family does not have the excruciating costs like rentals and transport that the urban worker must squeeze into their budget.

Lucky for Mai Masuku, Hwedza Growth Point is becoming a thriving centre for businesses such as hotels, pharmacies, abattoirs, grocery shops, hardware, wholesales as well as informal traders.

All this in addition to the number of residents, which is also growing means that she has a steady market right on her doorstep.

Having tasted the potential of growth, Mai Masuku is now looking to expand her informal operation into an SME.

Her dream is to supply fresh produce to boarding schools, clinics and hospitals hotels and restaurants and hospitals in Marondera, Harare, Rusape and Chivhu.

Buka Village headman, Christian Buka, praised Mai Masuku, describing her as a role model on how one can make use of the resources at hand to build a better lifestyle for themselves instead of just complaining.

“Mai Masuku has been setting a mark for all women here in Hwedza District. Many villagers learn from her family that daily cash generating gardens can be erected at your homes,” he said.

He said that with some support, Mai Masuku could really go places. He also said that the disintegrating moral fabric of society could be reknit through thriving enterprises.

“I wish donors and government funders would support such initiatives so that it cascades across Zimbabwe from Hwedza District here in Mashonaland East. People who are busy with their gardens and marketing will not have the chance to be idle minds which leads to divorce, prostitution and drug abuse,” Buka said.

Hwedza Rural District Council Chairperson Sheila Mugabe, said: “It is my prayer that we get funding from partners through our government to support such economic initiatives by the local women in form of processing plants so that the shelf life of these perishables is extended and value is achievable.

“Hwedza District is saluting all women in small scale horticulture who are self-dependent, some single-handedly sending their children to tertiary institutions, beautifying their homes, inspiring, motivating each other for general developments and women empowerment programmes,” Mugabe said.

Speaking to Zim Now, 4-H Foundation director, John Muchenje said the issue of drought has negatively affected women in the rural areas.

Muchenje said some women are not as lucky as Mai Masuku as they have to travel long distances to get water so have limited capacity to start horticulture ventures.

The 4-H Foundation started a project called the Women-Water-Food Nexus, which Muchenje said will address water insecurity, food insecurity and nutrition.

The Foundation has been building the resilience of rural women farmers against climate change using community-based adaptation indigenous knowledge systems aiming at addressing food insecurity.

“Due to the drought, you will see that even some women who had gardens, they no longer have because they do not have water within their localities,” said Muchenje.

While Zimbabwe has built several dams in the past few years, it does not yet have adequate irrigation infrastructure to fully utilise the harvested water.

A World Food Programme study in Malawi suggests that an irrigation initiatives and other resilience-building activities are delivering major dividends. Targeting 128 000 families in eight Malawi districts, it found some 95 percent of respondents reported higher crop production. Nine in 10 said they felt better prepared to face natural disasters.

The Southern African Development Community is facing hunger with Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi having declared national disasters.

In Chapter 4 section 2 of The SADC Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Strategy  one of the key elements to mitigate effects of persistent droughts, is “Supporting and strengthening participatory and integrated approaches in mainstreaming of drought into planning and decision-making processes, including training on risk-informed decision-making.”

By implication that would mean that people like Mai Masuku who have found ways to cope should be considered experts instead of being brought into programming at the end as mere beneficiaries.

In Zambia, women’s groups such as the Kasenga Tiyende Pasogolo Women’s Club are tackling climate change and droughts at community level by coming up with green initiatives such as brick built low fuel consumption rocket stove.
To successfully combat climate change,

“The 4-H Foundation emphasises on locating women at the centre of community development. 
Climate change is a global problem, but adaptation and resilience building need to be implemented locally,” said Muchenje.

“The world faces a triple and interconnected crisis, a climate emergency, rapid biodiversity destruction and entrenched poverty which mostly affects the rural populace. The local and indigenous peoples are often seen as stewards and custodians of the environment while their rights have been recognised at the international level they are not respected at the national level,” he said.

Muchenje added that local people must be part of the conversations at all levels, which helps to ensure that the adaptation respects local cultural practices and knowledge.