Project Description

Guruve, Zimbabwe

Program Details and Objectives:

 

In addition to the out-grower soya bean project the Foundation established its pilot mechanization project to assist our already established community of contract farmers in Guruve. This mechanization project provides farmers with the option to rent one of two tractors owned and operated by the Foundation to till, disc and plant more efficiently and effectively in order to have higher yields and maintain better overall crop production. This project aims to i
ncrease the adaptation rate amongst smallholders and impact their farming practices both economically and environmentally.

 

Participant Name: Juliet Machuwe

Participant Age: 53

Participant Gender: Female

Participant Details:

Ms. Machuwe farms 3 ha of land and prior to joining the soya beans project she grew maize and sugar beans for personal consumption, with yields providing her with little extra to sell, providing her with little additional income. She is the head of a 9 member household with 2 child dependants only one of which is of school age. Before her dealings with IETC she would sell her sugar bean crop on to a private buyer at $20 per 25kg bucket, resulting in an annual income of approximately USD$680. Some of this income would go towards payment of labourers, as she would hire up to 6 people throughout the season, with a higher demand during harvesting

Participants details in the program:

Ms. Machuwe began to use the tractor services provided in the mechanization program from its inception in 2015/2016. She is also intending to plant sesame this upcoming season with our sesame program which is still getting off the ground in Guruve.

She has utilized the tractors in the mechanization program for ploughing, discing and planting. Ms. Machuwe has greatly advanced her annual income through taking on soya beans as a cash crop and has also greatly benefited from the mechanization program in which services rendered have allowed her to farm her 3 hectares more effectively and efficiently and cut down on external labour costs as well as allowing for her daughter to attend school throughout the entirety of the farming season.

 

Results:

Through the soya program Ms. Machuwe has managed to increase her annual income and invested her returns into a building project on her farm. She was able to increase her annual return in 2014/2015 with a high yielding crop producing 3 tonnes on 1 ha which was bought at $490/tonne resulting in approximately USD$1,000 after inputs repayment. The following 2015/2016 season was a considerably smaller yield due to El Nino related droughts throughout Zimbabwe, providing her with a yield of just ¾ of a tonne of soya.

This past season she noticed the difference in her crop yield and the efficiency of using the tractors from the mechanization program. She intends to continue using the tractors from the mechanization project as it has allowed her school-age child to attend school throughout the entirety of the farming season.

She also considers the costs of renting the tractors as fair, but would appreciate the option of a loan scheme in order to be able to pay for the tractor services after receiving procurement income. She also noted that the tractors have already become too high in demand and sees from the beginning of this 2016/2017 season that the tractors will struggle to keep up with the increasing demand.

 

Conclusion:

As a result of the Foundations programs in Guruve Ms. Machuwe has greatly advanced her annual income through taking on soya beans as a cash crop and has also greatly benefited from the mechanization program in which services rendered have allowed her to more effectively and efficiently farm her 3 hectares and cut down on external labour costs as well as allowing for her daughter to attend school throughout the entirety of the farming season.  Through this case study, it is still clear that more can be done to encourage smallholder farming women to become more proactive in their farming practices and should be emboldened by the participation of Ms. Machuwe to strive to advance their farming practices to help build a more sustainable future for their households. The Foundation projects in Guruve have greatly impacted Ms. Machuwe, her household and the greater community as can be seen through the continuance of the programs and the ever increasing number of participants. These projects have aided in creating a more knowledgeable smallholder farming community, providing them with training in sustainable farming practices and creating a market for a high yield cash crop with soya beans to improve the participants and community’s standard of living.