Promoting women economic empowerment

Promoting women empowerment

Deputy News Editor Phyllis Kachere

NOVEMBER 27 2007 is the day mother of four and communal farmer Mrs Tendai Marere (39) from the Nyamaropa area in Shamva says completely changed her life.

"This is the day I received farming implements from the Government. This is the day that I received a plough plus chain and sprayer for my cotton crop. This is the day my nightmares and worries about how I will till my fields come rains, evaporated. This is the day I stopped being dependent on my in-laws for use of their plough. I can’t describe how I feel now.

"I am a widow and all along I have been dependent on my in-laws for support each time the rains came. But this time, thanks to the Government, I have become capable of tilling my own fields using my own plough. Now look at how healthy my maize, cotton, soya beans, groundnuts crop is and compare that with the lower yields I used to receive before," she said.

This is the day that Government’s Phase Two farm mechanisation initiative became a reality to not only Mrs Marere’s family, but to four other families in Shamva’s Ward 10 Reza village, whose heads became the proud beneficiaries of the programme.

"We are overjoyed with the plough that my daughter-in-law received from Government. This shows we have a Government that listens and cares for its people. Where would she find the billions to buy the plough and the sprayer? She is just a widow. My son is now late. The President must be thanked. Please convey our gratitude to him," chipped in her father-in-law, Sekuru Misheck Marere.

Mrs Marere said the new farming implements she received have removed pressure on her in-laws’ implements, which she also relied on.

"Because of my new implements I have managed to increase my hectarage from my previous. This year I have put four hectares under maize, one hectare under cotton, two hectares for groundnuts, one for soya beans and an acre for roundnuts and sunflower. I have a healthy crop and I am expecting to make more money from my produce. My only worry is the poor price offered by GMB for my maize crop," she said.

She said after being vetted from a pool of 45 other communal farmers who had applied to receive the implements, she feels obliged to work hard and show Government that its effort was not in vain.

"When the programme started, we rushed to submit our names to our village heads and our village ended up with 45 applicants. The names were returned with the advice that they should be reduced to only five deserving farmers per ward.

"The village assembly, which comprises of all members in the village, met and voted. We all agreed the implements would only go to those who have proved their farming capabilities and not chancers. In other wards we heard there was commotion as only village heads and other village officers received the implements. But that was not the case here. We only selected our best farmers," said another villager, Mr Chirezi Mbulawa.

Mrs Marere said she was not surprised when she won as she together with her in-laws are known serious farmers in their area.

"It was good that they rewarded real farmers. Now we have the task of fulfilling Government’s objective of producing food for the whole nation. It’s just that our fields are getting too small for our capacity. I am sure now we qualify for an A2 farm," said Mrs Marere.

She said with her farm produce, she has managed to send her three children to school and no longer depended on her in-laws’ farming implements.

"As a widow, I have relied on my in-laws for financial support for the upkeep of my four boys. But now I tell you, that has completely changed. I can plough on time and look after my family without depending on handouts. Hurumende yadzinga nhamo mumba mangu. (The Government has chased poverty out of my household.) It is a dream come true for an ordinary villager to receive such a plough," said Mrs Marere.

She said she and the other woman who received a similar plough would soon engage in training other women in their ward to become more successful farmers and hopes to start a poultry project with proceeds from the sale of her crops.

Observers have noted that Government’s farm mechanisation programme would help it meet its targets on Millennium Development Goals one and three which commits it to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and promote gender equality and empower women by 2015.