Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Dear FSN Forum,

Find below my contribution on the lessons and good practiceson investments for healthy food systems.

Best regards

Elizabeth

 

Proponent

Strengthening small holder farmers’ local initiatives on good practices on investments for health food systems through agro-ecology and food sovereignty in Zimbabwe rural areas.

Date/Timeframe and location

July 2017-July 2018 and Located in Shashe Area, Masvingo Province

Main responsible entity

Zimbabwe Small Holder Farmers’ Forum (ZIMSOFF)

Nutrition context

Since 2002, when it was formed ZIMSOFF has over the years been practicing food sovereignty and agro-ecology as well promoting production of small grains (Pulses) such as ground nuts, round nuts, cow peas, rapoko, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, sesame, millet and sorghum including agro-forestry of fruit trees. This has been practiced in Shashe area In Masvingo and other areas in Matebeleland North, Mashonaland and Manicaland province. This provides a diversified nutrition system and small grains have proved to be highly nutritious to improve dietary concerns of rural small holder farmers especially women. At the forefront of this local initiative is Mrs Elizabeth Mpofu from Shashe and resulted in United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) recognizing her role in promotion of Pulses and appointing her the Special Ambassador for Pulses in Africa in August 2016.

Key characteristics of the food system(s) considered

  • Food sovereignty: a concept that recognizes the right of local peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through sustainable methods and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.
  • Prioritizes local food production and consumption giving a country the right to protect its local producers from cheap imports and to control production.
  • Agro-Ecology: the practice of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable production systems (agro-ecosystems).
  • Agro-ecology and production of small grains is the best agricultural practice that rural people can adopt to adapt and be resilient to harsh climatic conditions and have a stable nutrition system and provides diversified and sustainable nutrition systems as compared to conventional type of agricultural systems.

Key characteristics of the investment made

  • Establishment of the Shashe Agro-Ecology School that promotes farmer to farmer training or extension services whereby farmers visit the school, share experiences and learn from each other on agro-ecology. It is referred to as farmer-to-farmer training or extension services on agro-ecology and food sovereignty and sustainable nutrition practices.
  • It is part of the La Via Campesina’s network of over 40 Agro-ecology schools around the world, and promotes the exchange of experiences through horizontal learning, to disseminate agro-ecological and sustainable peasant agriculture practices
  • Examples include organic farming, diversified crop rotations, biological pest control, extensive agro-pastoral systems and agroforestry.
  • Investments in climate change resilient practices such as sustainable land and water management through building of earth dams, pit holes, contours, veet grass that holds moistures and mulching and organic farming through use of manure, compost and conservation agriculture. One ZIMSOFF member, Mr Mawara from Murowa has won an award for good water harvesting practices in light of uncertainties in rainfall patterns in Zimbabwe.
  • Local seed multiplication of small grains and seed banking for future use by farmers including exchanging and selling among themselves in promotion of food sovereignty and production of small grains.
  • Construction of grain storages in each home stead, drying places and processing centers for value addition including packaging to prevent post-harvest losses. 

Key actors and stakeholders involved (including through south-south/triangular exchanges, if any)

  • ZIMSOFF cluster members around the country organized into small holder farmers’ organisations at household levels, district and national levels.
  • ZIMSOFF local network members such as PELUM Zimbabwe and regional members such La Via Campesina (an international movement which brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. It defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity), Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers (ZIMSOFF being one of the founding member of this regional network), Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Third World Network and African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) all these organisations promoting agro-ecology and food sovereignty and local small holder farmer initiatives on sustainable agricultural practices that promote a diversified nutrition in the region and South-South cooperation.
  • ZIMSOFF also works with the Ministry of Agriculture and local extension services as well as other international organisations such FAO, Action and Oxfam.

Key changes (intended and unintended) as a result of the investment/s

Some of the intended key changes include a diversified food and nutrition system among ZIMSOFF members, scaling up of agro-ecology and food sovereignty among ZIMSOFF members around the country, climate change resilient agricultural practices, sustainable water and soil management practices and strengthening leadership skills among women farmers and their engagement with policy makers through learning from the Shashe school. This has also resulted in improved income generation from farming practices by selling to other communities and the entire nation and other peoples from the South-South cooperation initiatives.  The other changes are turning once a non-productive land that was reserved for cattle ranching into productive land for food production and also ensuring that international organisations such as FAO to have a buy in and promote production of small grains (Pulses).

Some of the unintended changes include some backlashes from seed companies competing with small holders for seed supply as farmers exchanging and selling their seed among themselves.  Other changes include criticisms from some sections of the society who claim that indigenous seeds are not productive ignoring that the seeds are resilient to harsh climate conditions and are freely available within communities.  Some sections of society allege that agro-ecology is expensive for small holder farmers ignoring that agro-ecology is based on use of available ecological resources and that it conserves the available ecological resources as compared to conventional agricultural practices.

Challenges faced

  • The Agro-ecology school is located in agro ecological region IV that a very dry area receiving an average of 400mm of rainfall per year. Dry land agriculture has failed sometimes due to the current droughts.
  • One of the goals of ZIMSOFF is to scale up the agro-ecology schools and build more school around the country to meet the high demand of farmer to farmer training but funding constraints have hampered this and ZIMSOFF hope that this award will help in scaling up the practices.
  • Conventional agriculture is the more dominant and powerful alternative to food production at this stage, it is pushing for an industrial agricultural approach,  which over the years has vested more and more power and profit into the hands of fewer and fewer corporations
  • Of recent the Government of Zimbabwe has committed to implementing the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development program (CAADP), the 2014 Malabo Declaration and the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy of 2014 and its Investment Plans which are a threat to local solutions towards food sovereignty. These policies and programmes promote conventional forms of agriculture and do not recognize the importance of food sovereignty and agro-ecology that have been the backbone of sustainable nutrition practices by small holder farmers in rural areas especially women farmers.

Lessons/Key messages

  • Some of the lessons learnt so far include the following:
  • The need for national and regional policy makers to support local farmers’ initiatives in food and nutrition by promoting agro-ecology, food sovereignty and production of small grains (Pulses).
  • Need for a policy on agro-ecology and food sovereignty.
  • Farmer to farmer training is the best way of extension services as farmers learn from each other and coping and scaling up the knowledge gained in other communities and neighboring countries.
  • There is need to upscale initiatives by farmers in seed multiplication and seed banking and retain seeds for future use that are climate change resilient.