While doing her chores one day she received news from a relative back in Mutema village in Chipinge that the USAID/Zimbabwe’s Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience Team had launched the Mutema and Chibuwe banana irrigation schemes.
Today Sithole (29) is one of the 250 farmers benefitting from the project, which has been partnered with banana producing company, Matanuska. Each farmer was given a loan of $3,000 to get started.
The company helps farmers like Sithole to sell their produce abroad, while USAID has repaired old boreholes and sunk new ones, and provided seeds and chemicals under a revolving fund.
School dropout
“If I look back at my life, I cannot believe that I am what I am today because of the banana project,” said Sithole, her eyes filled with tears, in a recent interview. “I am a school dropout and I lived as an orphan. No one paid school fees and uniforms for me because my relatives didn’t have money to help,” she added.
“But I can confidently say I am now in a position to look after my children and other people close to me,” said Sithole, who earns a net profit of $600 every month. “I am an uneducated person so I do not want my children to be in the same predicament as I was in. All my three children are going to school and I have bought the uniforms. I want to invest much in my children’s education so that they can have a better life.
She has built a four-roomed house using her profits. “I want to thank the USAID for this project as it has brought life to us,” she said.
Decent life
Another beneficiary Shupikai Marange (28) said through the banana project she had managed to build a house, buy groceries and pay school fees for her children as well as venturing into other income-generating projects.
“I am now getting enough money to lead a decent life. Through this project I am earning $500 per month net profit. This money has transformed my lifestyle from living in a grass-thatched mud house to a brick house under asbestos,” she said.
Budai Mupeiwa (32) another farmer said: “We are staying in region five which has extremely hot temperatures, but instead of focusing on our poverty we got into banana farming. Now we have enough to eat, living a life of our own and sponsoring our children’s schooling and paying for medical care.
“My average earnings are $560 per month and with that money l have built a house for me and my family. Comparing myself now and the life that I lived before, I can say that I am now the happiest person.”
Respected person
Mupeiwa also bought cattle and goats using her profits. “I am now a respected person in the community and I am also proud of that,” she added.
Rosey Tsanga (38) said the community at large had benefitted. “Generally people are building houses and more children are going to school while transport business is thriving too. We are also happy that there is now increased food security in that farmers can buy and store food,” she said.
“Our business centre (Mutema) has become a hive of activity as more shops have opened and money is circulating. We have seen that most of us have bought stands and are building houses at the growth point,” she added.
Naume Mayakayaka, an Agritex supervisor in Mutema, said more women had shown interest in the project than men and, according to their records, more women are excelling than men.
“In the Mutema area, we have 60 hectares under banana irrigation scheme with 238 farmers on board,” she said. “The programme started in 2012 and farmers have harvested three times now. On average they pocket $600 a month. We have two types of varieties – Asdia and Sweet Williams which have a foreign ready foreign market in countries such as Zambia and South Africa.
Enjoying profits
“At first the farmers were hesitant to join the programme because they feared the loans, but after a series of meetings and demonstrations, they embraced it and now they are enjoying profits,” explained Mayakayaka.
Matanuska project co-ordinator Johannes Makurumidze said the project had created a win-win situation for both the company and the locals. “We are expecting the produce to be the best in Africa as we aim to achieve 60 tonnes per hectare under irrigation,” he said.
Makurumidze said the project had improved the irrigation in the area while also giving technical support and skills transfer to the villagers.
United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton, who recently toured the project, said it had addressed immediate needs in building resilience in vulnerable communities out of a state of chronic food dependency and towards greater self-sufficiency.
“Zimbabwe is a great country with potential to build its own good future. It has the capability and it has the primary drivers that are able to take the country to another level, but the problem lies in the policy and decision makers,” he said.
“However despite this, my country has continued to support Zimbabweans through assistance in agriculture, health, economic growth, education and other key areas, as well as humanitarian areas. I want to congratulate the farmers for the job well done and as a country we will continue to assist them in their agricultural endeavours,” he added.
Post published in: Agriculture