Tag: ZIMSOFF

  • How seed fairs help small scale farmers revive long lost, first generation seeds

    How seed fairs help small scale farmers revive long lost, first generation seeds

    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…

  • Zimbabwe smallholder farmers’ battle for seed, food sovereignty

    Zimbabwe smallholder farmers’ battle for seed, food sovereignty

    By Tatenda Chitagu MASVINGO-Loveness Ducha (61), a smallholder subsistence farmer from Shashe, Mashava in Zimbabwe’s southern Masvingo province, can now successfully control her diet from the indigenous crops she grows at her four hectare plot. The battle for food and seed sovereignty, however, was not a stroll in the park for the diabetes patient, who…