Working with Foundations for Farming, we teach children modern methods of conservation farming.
Average grain yields in Zimbabwe are just half a tonne per hectare. By contrast, conservation farming methods result in average yields of 4 tonnes per hectare.
By introducing these methods in schools, we are able to equip children with the practical skills they need to feed themselves and their families.
The scheme will also give schools the opportunity to create income by selling the food they produce, or alternatively this produce can be used to provide meals for children at school. Research (and basic common sense!) shows that a child with a full stomach is able to concentrate much better in class!
SUSTAINABLE FARMINING IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS – Educating young people with agricultural skills and techniques to farm sustainably and address food insecurity.
“Yes, benefits were observed. It increased the school enrolment and minimized absenteeism.” Headteacher
One in three children in Zimbabwe suffers from chronic malnutrition and in 2020 less than one in fifty received the globally defined minimum acceptable diet for their age. In 2015, the government introduced agriculture into the national curriculum. However, few teachers are qualified to teach this subject to a high enough standard to ensure good learning and exam results.
Traditional farming practices or overreliance on cash-crops can drain the ground of nutrition and moisture leaving it weaker with each coming year. On top of this, the increasing effects of climate change including more frequent drought and flash flooding have devastating short and long-term effects on the land, which traditional farming practices can do little to withstand.
ZET has been working with Foundations for Farming, since 2015. They are the leading experts in conservation and climate-smart agriculture across southern Africa. Our collaborative partnership model helps them to access the funds they need, build capacity from within, track outcomes and above all to do what they’re best at – deliver impactful projects in vulnerable communities.
Our method places emphasis on stewardship and responsible use of the land to make sure that all agricultural development aligns with the wider environment and can be maintained long-term. We train school staff and key community members in low-tech and easily adopted methods including; minimum soil disturbance, mulching, and complimentary management practices. By providing all the requisite technical skills, tools, and equipment, we drastically increase crop yields allowing food to be given to students (thereby improving their concentration and educational attainment – whilst tackling malnutrition). What’s more, surplus can be sold supporting the school’s limited budget.
We establish eight ‘Pvumvudza’ demonstration crop plots on the school’s grounds so that theory is supported with practice. The project also sets up a chicken house for 20 chickens so that eggs are produced. A self-sustaining element of the project ensures that the by-products of the crop farming generate a strong supply of chicken feed, such that the school will not need to purchase feed going forwards. With the addition of support visits throughout delivery these practical elements allow us to ensure that the lessons learned are being implemented to a high standard. We can give tips and advice as the school takes responsibility for their own work.
Our delivery model of sustainable integration between school and community further ensures that older community members (often reticent to change traditional farming practices) are shown the positive effects of our methods. We hold community open days where parents and other community members, many of whom are subsistence farmers, can see the proof. This helps buy-in whist developing skills. The children, who get hands on in maintaining the schools’ practices, take their learning home. As the next generation of farmers, the community ripple effect can be profound.
Please note
Our work does not replace the agriculture curriculum nor deliver the requisite training teachers should be getting, but it builds their capacity to teach it for year groups to come. Alongside an engaging curriculum, the programme develops practical and vocational skills, enabling young people to lift themselves out of poverty. Students benefit from improved employability, more efficient food production and the capacity to sell their increased produce in their personal lives.
Our Impact
- Crop yields regularly up to ten times that of traditional farming methods.
- Over 35,000 school children helped by Foundations for Farming & Zimbabwe Educational Trust.
- Our Pfumvudza demonstration methods have been nationally recognised. We were commissioned by the government to train community Extension Officers nationwide.
- Land is resilient against climate change, increasing food security for generations. One demonstration is teaching minimal soil disturbance – at odds with traditional wisdom about appropriate tilling of the land. When increasingly common flash floods hit, nutrient rich top-soil is not washed away, ensuring the land remains fertile and strong.
A teacher noted “Pupil’s participation in classwork has highly increased”.
Inyaguwe Primary School – A Case Study
Located in the Murehwa district, 135km from the capital city of Harare, the school had previously practiced and taught agriculture but had little to show for it, in spite of a reliable water system. Following our work together maize production went from 150kg up to a massive 1,750kg, a growth of 1,067%. Sugar bean production went up 500%, tomatoes 233% and onions by 117%. Utilising the crops and eggs produced the school provided 15,920 meals to students. The headmaster was keen to talk about the outcomes; “Yes, benefits were observed. It increased the school enrolment and minimized absenteeism.” A teacher noted “Pupil’s participation in classwork has highly increased”. The school sold surplus produce totalling £552 which they used to buy desperately needed English and Maths textbooks, more farming inputs, a printer (which the community can also use) and part of the cost of a laptop. It was also estimated that 39 staff and community members were adopting these practices in their home farming, showing a powerful actual and potential ripple effect. By the end of the project plans were already underway to double egg production and increase crop areas by 80%.
Find Foundations for Farming online
Website: http://www.foundationsforfarming.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foundationsforfarming/?locale=en_GB
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fffarming?lang=en
In the news:
Promo: https://vimeo.com/801259099/d05a3532a
FAO Award: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/research-and-farming-institutions-from-brazil-the-netherlands-and-zimbabwe-win-fao-awards/en
BBC Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b321wr