The Sunday Mail
The United Nations launch of 2014 as the Year of Family Farming has seen Zimbabwe join the world in celebrating this important year by taking the issue of food security and nutrition as its number one priority through Government’s economic blueprint Zim Asset.
According to the UN, the year is about recognition of food production at household level with family members depending on their own labour.
This has since proven that family farming, if given all the support systems, is the best way to go in combating hunger and poverty reduction among a country’s citizenry.
Under the Zim Asset Food Security and Nutrition cluster, Government has committed itself to providing subsidised agriculture input schemes under the Presidential Input Scheme as well as the distribution of food relief commodities to needy provinces.
The Presidential Input Scheme saw hundreds of thousands of families benefiting and this has inevitably boosted food production and security at family level as evidenced by this year’s bumper harvests in most parts of the country.
The country is expecting 1, 4 million tonnes of maize.
With most households boasting of having enough food to feed themselves as well as having surplus, the country’s budget for food imports will automatically go on a downward trend.
The Chikerema family was allocated land in 2007 at Green Farm in Beatrice and they are the perfect model for family farming.
The family conducts mixed farming on a massive scale. On their 20 hectares of maize, they are expecting about 180 tonnes.
After getting some assistance under the Presidential Input Scheme, the family also used manure to maximise their yields. In addition to this, the introduction of liquid fertiliser in their farming area also assisted them.
According to Mr Whiteford Chikerema, liquid fertiliser costs much less than compound D and ammonium nitrate.
Narrating their successful family farming story, Mr Chikerema said he gives all the credit to his family for collectively working tirelessly on the farm.
A father of three, Mr Chikerema does the land tilling while the family members plant the crops.
Besides maize production, the family is also into goat, sheep and cattle rearing. The family boasts of having a total of 65 goats, 60 sheep, 375 cattle and countless road-runner chickens.
Mrs Chikerema also ensures a nutritional diet for her family. A few hectares are always under groundnuts and sugar beans every year.
“I have not only managed to buy myself a grinding mill from proceeds derived from selling my groundnuts but have also acquired state-of-the art kitchen equipment for the family. We have everything that is required by a family to eat and live in a healthy way. All our food is fresh and we are happy that it is GMO-free as we grow nearly everything from here as a family,’’ said a proud Mrs Chikerema.
Although her two daughters are both married, they still come to work with their young brother on the farm every farming season.
“Stealing from farms is rampant, but this is done by those you employ as they know all your movements as well as where you stock your produce, but as a family, that risk is low.
“They have become part and parcel of everything being produced on the farms, that is the sense of ownership instilled in family members is very key to successful family farming ventures,’’ she explained.
Besides an anticipation of 180 tonnes of maize, the Chikerema family is also expecting a tonne of sugar beans, bucker wheat as well as two tonnes of groundnuts.
The goat and sheep projects will also see the family selling the animals to locals and butcheries in and around the farm.
Cattle fattening is also reaping huge rewards for the hard-working family.
“Usually it takes between 90 to 120 days before a beast is ready for the market.
“The price depends on the weight of the animal. In some cases I have sold some beasts ranging from $900 to $1 500 per beast,’ said Mr Chikerema.
The Chikerema family is only one of the thousands of families thriving from family farming and providing food security not only to the family but also to the nation at large.
According to Food and Agriculture Organisation, an estimated 500 million farms rely mainly on family members for labour.
Family farmers have also proved to be leading figures in preserving natural resources.
This is an area worth tapping and agricultural research and extension workers need to equip family farmers with knowledge and appropriate technologies to strengthen their production levels, thus repositioning family farmers as a central tool to food production.
