Cyclone Idai hit Zimbabwe in March 2019, destroying large swaths of cropland in the country’s eastern regions. Approximately 50,000 households were destroyed, affecting approximately 270,000 people.
Cyclone Idai’s torrential rains, strong winds, flash floods, and landslides destroyed large fields of maize, groundnuts, cowpeas, sorghum, and other crops, obliterating people’s livelihoods.
“I lost the majority of my maize crop and only managed to recover four bags of maize; additionally, eight chickens, a fowl run, and a blair toilet were completely destroyed,” Thandiwe Saungweme, a 52-year-old widow of Matanda village in Mutare district’s ward 18, said.
Thandiwe was also impacted financially, as she had no other source of income to provide for her family’s food security and livelihood. The loss of the birds alone cost about USD$7 per chicken. The cost of reconstructing the fowl run and toilet is estimated to be around US$240. Thandiwe also had the financial burden of obtaining funds to purchase agricultural inputs for the 2019/2020 farming season.
“When Cyclone Idai struck, FAO and LEAD came to our aid through the Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP), providing us with information on climate-smart agriculture, pre- and post-harvest management, and, most significantly, inputs to help us resume our agricultural activities.” We’ve been on the road to recovery since then. Thandiwe claimed, “Our productivity has increased, and we are prepared for future natural disasters.”
Instead of utilizing harmful pesticides that can be harmful to human health and the environment if improperly applied, Thandiwe uses climate-smart technology like Pfumvudza and hermetic bags provided by the ZIRP to safely store her harvest.
Farmers who have benefited from the ZIRP two years after Cyclone Idai Thandiwe have seen an improvement in agricultural output and productivity, contributing to better food security for their households.
“With World Bank funding and management from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), FAO is implementing the ZIRP in nine districts in collaboration with the government and implementing partners LEAD and World Vision.” The ZIRP was implemented on time and addressed the requirements of communities impacted by Cyclone Idai. Furthermore, it provides a mix of agricultural investments and climate smart agricultural technologies to address the drivers of both climate shock and acute food poverty. By providing agricultural and livestock inputs, as well as training and extension services, FAO is assisting smallholder farmers in rebuilding their livelihoods and food security, while also boosting their resilience to future shocks. The ZIRP implementation mode contributes to a broader agenda of collaboration and collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe and other development partners to guarantee that no one in Zimbabwe goes hungry,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa.
Since October 2019, FAO has provided crop inputs such as maize seed, cowpea seed, hermetic bags, and basal and top dressing fertilizers to 10,000 vulnerable farming households to help them rebuild their productive potential. A total of 4,527 livestock farmers benefited from livestock inputs such as additional stock feed and fodder production inputs. Farmers receive crop and livestock inputs as well as training, extension, and consultancy services.
Seeing is believing
Thandiwe hosted a field day to demonstrate the impact of the ZIRP intervention on crop productivity, inviting other farmers, agricultural professionals, extension workers, grain end users, local leaders, and even children to see the new climate smart technologies and farming techniques she and other ZIRP beneficiaries had used to boost crop productivity.
Thandiwe was given 5kg maize, 2kg white sorghum, and 2kg red sorghum seeds by K2 [Klein Karoo Seed Company] to show appreciation for her labor. This would result in her increasing her hectarage for the 2021/2022 agricultural season.
The Department of Civil Protection (DCP) and UNOPS recently conducted a joint monitoring tour of project sites, including Thandiwe’s, and found that “project beneficiaries are evidently more motivated and purposeful in their approach to agriculture and livelihoods,” as well as “a primer for food security and enhanced post-harvest food preservation and storage.”
