By Tatenda Chitagu
BIKITA, ZIMBABWE-Since childhood, Ellen Mutsinze (55) has planted small, early generation grains to add variety to the family’s staple corn diet.
She never imagined the once-looked-down-upon drought tolerant crops as a source of cash-until now.
Climate change-induced droughts that have led to successive maize crop failures-compounded by increasing lifestyle diseases-drove increased demand for traditional food.
“I used to take it (growing small grains) as a past-time, but now it is a means of survival,” she says, adding, “I either prepare the seeds myself or buy from other farmers that grow the indigenous crops.”
Most of these farmer-saved traditional seed varieties are not available for sale in shops by seed companies. The country’s Seed Act of 1971 (Chapter 19:13) prohibits the farmers from packaging and selling these first generation seeds because they are not certified and laboratory tested
Now Mutsinze is preparing more home-made seeds of millet, sorghum, rapoko and other pulses for sale at annual seed and food fairs held for small scale farmers by agro-ecological organisations.
She recently participated in a seed and food fair organised by the Earthlore Foundation and the Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF) in Bikita District of southern Masvingo province that attracted hundreds of farmers drawn from all corners of Zimbabwe and beyond.
Some of the huge diversity of seeds displayed, shared, sold and swapped at the Festival.
Another farmer at the seed fair, Regai Sinyabuwe, from Nyanga District, east of Zimbabwe near the border with Mozambique, said seed and food fairs have helped them to preserve the small grains.
“We do have seeds for some indigenous crops, but we do not have all. So this is a platform for us to exchange, and get knowledge on new seed varieties,” he said.
Women as seed custodians
Most of the farmers who took part in the seed and food fair in Bikita were women. And it was not by chance, said Earthlore Foundation Director Method Gundidza.
“This is not discrimination…. women play a huge role as seed custodians. Traditionally seed was under the custodian of women. Women are deeply involved in the growing, selection and increasing the diversity in seed,” he said on the side-lines of the seed fair, which attracted government leaders, traditional leaders and farmers from Nigeria, Benin and Kenya, among others.
“The female component holds life and nurtures life, the same in seed, that is why there are so many women exhibitors,” Gundidza added.
Local participants at the event, largely comprising of women (pic by HuMFOZ)
Recently, Earthlore managed to revive the Barnyard seed, popularly known as Svoboda (Echinochloa sculenta), which is a local millet variety which had gone into extinction, after managing to identify one old lady who was the last one with the seeds in the district.
“Recuperation of lost indigenous seeds reawakens the cultural memory of the forgotten meals, rekindles hope of continuity, and gets communities working together again. Women’s prowess in seed knowledge, selection, saving practices as well as knowledge of indigenous seed storage structures come out through such fairs,” Gundidza said.
Farmers embracing small grains
ZIMSOFF coordinator Oliat Mauramba says such seed and food fairs help ‘prevent first generation seeds sinking into oblivion.’
“Apart from preserving first generation seeds, such forums help farmers to meet their leaders, both government and traditional leaders, and provides an interface between farmers and their stakeholders,” Mauramba said.
Agritex officer Godknows Munanga explaining some of the seed varieties to one of the participants (pic by HuMFOZ)
He said the hectarage under small grains like sorghum, rapoko and svoboda in Bikita have increased ever since they started having the seed and food fairs.
Another farmer, Benedite Muzira, a member of Chirambaguyo garden that hosted the seed fair, concurred.
“We used to plant just maize and did not harvest anything due to droughts, but now we were advised to shift to small grains. These seed fairs teach the broader community the value and benefits of agro ecology. Small grains are the way to go. We are now having crops for beer making at traditional ceremonies like rainmaking ceremonies,” Muzira said.
Ancilia Zavazava, an Agricultural Technical Extension (Agritex) officer for the area, says she is excited farmers are embracing small grains.
“We are excited as extension officers because farmers are embracing agro-ecology and reviving small grains and traditional seeds. We provided training to them at some of these platforms which helps them learn from each other and exchange knowledge around these drought tolerant crops,” said Zavazava, who works with 41 villages comprising of 2000 households.
The United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of the Millets to raise awareness of the nutritional and health benefits of millets, and their potential to help with food security and climate change.
“We believe seed sovereignty leads to food sovereignty,” said Tinashe Mushonga, an agro ecology expert.
“Embracing these healthy and nutritious crops reconnects communities with their rich culinary heritage while also providing a sustainable solution to the challenges posed by climate change, offering a path to more diverse, and locally resilient food systems,” added Mushonga.
Chief Budzi, born Herbert Chimene, said government should give seeds that are specific to regions under the Presidential Inputs Scheme.
“We urge the government to allocate seeds in accordance with regions, not just to give all farmers maize seeds as some regions like ours in Bikita need small grains because maize is agro ecologically ill-suited for the region due to low rainfall patterns,” he said.
Chief Budzi (in blue suit) with some of the participants at the fair from Kenya (pic by HuMFOZ)
For Mutsinze and several other farmers from the barren Bikita soils, it is such long forgotten, first generation grains like svoboda, rapoko, sorghum and other locally adapted crops that have helped them restore food self-sustenance at household level.
“We hope the seed fairs will continue to grow each year and attract more farmers-and more grain diversity so that we can beat drought,” she said.