In a recent interview, the programme coordinator Nathan Chikova said small miracles had been happening since the programme began in 2009.
“Women have been increasing their income in rural communities in Nyanga through the domestication, cultivation and sale of fruit and medicinal trees. The current phase aims to consolidate and expand on these successes,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Connie Makanza, 32, said: "The plants that I produce in the nursery have changed my life. My husband and I have been able to build a hut and we are now in the process of extending our main house. We are also very happy that our eldest daughter, who is 12, will be joining secondary school next year after completing her primary education this year. It is all because of the plants we sell that we can afford all this."
Indigenous trees
The Makanza family and the other members of their farming group in Mapako village are delighted by the success of their nurseries.
They are domesticating indigenous trees and improving valuable exotic species. Incomes have risen as a result of their newly-acquired skills in propagation techniques such as marcotting (air-layering), grafting and the rooting of cuttings.
"This year I earned more from selling plants than I did from our potato farming," said Makanza. Potato is the family's usual cash crop. The farmers on the tree programme have come a long way in a short time.
Five years ago, the women were trekking 15 kilometres to a central pilot nursery, where the Agroforestry Centre and IFAD partners were offering training on vegetative propagation techniques.
After the farmers finished their training and had mastered the techniques, the Agroforestry Centre helped them establish their own nurseries. The programme has been particularly effective in improving the livelihoods and status of women.
Male monopoly
"Men had for a long time monopolised the production of potatoes, and they spent their earnings on themselves," said Angeline Samukodza, another benefiting farmer who has planted 283 fruit, medicinal and spice trees.
"Today, a woman who brings home money is her husband's pride. By planting a tree she equally seals her place in the marital home," she emphasised.
The women in this tree domestication programme have established a reputation for high quality tree planting materials. They are now highly skilled.
“This programme has enabled me to select the trees l like and reproduce them. In one year, for I have managed to grow and sell apples and I have nursed 600 plum trees and 200 avocado trees,” said Gloria Kavhukatema.
Sacred forests
“In addition this has improved my family’s health by providing more food, by increasing my income and by giving me the opportunity to regenerate important medical species out of sacred forests," she said.
Vimbai Jamela, an agronomist who works with the women farmers, said tree planting also had important environmental implications.
"Trees planted on fragile ecosystems like hill sides can help stabilise them. Their roots penetrate deep into the soil, reducing the risk of landslides," she said "Besides that, tree-root systems absorb leached nutrients from deep in the soil and make the nutrients available to the growing trees. The trees grow strong with many leaves and bear fruits and spices,” said Jamela.
“The tree products are consumed, the older leaves drop and decompose around the tree, reconstituting the soil structure and enhancing its fertility," she explained.
The Agroforestry Centre in Nyanga South is working with poor women farmers to economically empower them. It is using science to generate knowledge about the complex role of trees in livelihoods and the environment.
Post published in: Gender Equality