Zimbabwe

Project: Sustainable Agriculture Production at Solusi University Farm

Category: Food Security

Where?

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country bordered by South Africa to the south, with Zambia to the north, Mozambique in the east and Botswana to the south-west. Its population is estimated at 11,635,000. Zimbabwe is experiencing a complex humanitarian crisis and its economy has been on the decline for over 10 years. The economy has shrunk by an estimated 44% from 1998 to 2007 and Foreign Direct Investments have dropped from -0.3 million USD in 2001 to -8.7million USD in 2004. Zimbabwe reported the highest inflation rates in the world with prices doubling every 24.7 hours in December 2008. According to WFP, 77% of the population in Zimbabwe was receiving food aid during the first quarter of 2009. The crop and food security assessment estimated that approximately 2.8 million people would require food assistance in 2009/2010, a marked decrease from the more than 5 million people receiving monthly food assistance between December 2008 and March 2009 .The poverty gap has increased from 56.1% in 2005, and approximately 72% of the population are now living below the poverty line. Besides the socio-political challenges, Zimbabwe has also been experiencing recurrent droughts that increased food insecurity.

Why?

Solusi University is located in the Western part of Zimbabwe in Matabeleland South Province. The province is characterised by low rainfall, mid season droughts, and generally short rainy seasons. There is chronic food insecurity and successful food production is when there is irrigation support. Solusi University is one of the potential seed producers (open pollinated varieties). However, the success of this initiative is dependent on receiving adequate rain at the right time – therefore irrigation is required. The University sits on 4 128 hectares of land. Out of this, 193 ha house the university campus, 166 ha are arable land and the rest, 3885 ha are suitable for livestock production. With this arable land and perennial sources of water, Solusi University remains food insecure and is unable to provide for its students, staff and local community. There is underutilisation of arable land yet food insecurity ranks high in Zimbabwe. It is limited in resources to run academic programmes and yet it is one of the few institutions of higher learning that remained open during the difficult time (2008-9). Solusi University lacks inputs due to the economic challenges in Zimbabwe; lacks technical expertise to manage the farm efficiently. There is no structured student training and community extension programme.

What?

Solusi University is no longer able to sustain the food requirements for its constituency and have access for marketing. The university lacks inputs, has a low irrigation coverage and is thus unable to mitigate mid season droughts and engage in meaningful dry season cropping. There is expectation in the province for the university to be a satellite for agriculture production in order to build the capacity of the surrounding communities but this is not being met. The university is unable to sustain its academic operations due to lack of financial resources, and yet it has a lot of land, which, if productive could generate enough income to sustain the farm operations and the university’s academic requirements. The overall objective is to improve the food security of Solusi University and its surrounding communities. This will contribute to the food security of the Matebeland South Province by increasing the productivity of the farm through expanding irrigation coverage and provision of some inputs. It is critical to capitalise on the 2009/2010 cropping season which is starting in the month of October to ensure food security for 2010. This will be done by increasing the fruit production on 10 hectares of orchard, improving summer food crop production on 50 hectares of land and marketing processed and unprocessed farm products

How?

New management practises will be implemented in order to ensure optimal productivity. These consist of providing the correct watering regime, pruning, protection from pests and diseases and providing adequate nutrients through fertilisers (organic and inorganic). 20 hectares of land will be put under pivot irrigation system. This is a low labour technology requiring a maximum of two people. It has high water application efficiency and is also efficient on time management since there is no movement of pipes. A soya bean extruder will process soya beans into soya meats (chunks) and in the process produce oil which will also be marketed. The residues from soya beans will be used as livestock feed. Sugar beans will be sold as is. A market analysis will be done to determine competitive prices for all products. The key target market is the university canteen, followed by the residents of the Solusi University campus compound and villages in the area. The project will be integrated in the academic curriculum and knowledge will be shared with the surrounding communities.

Who?

The project is co-financed by ADRA-UK, ADRA International, ADRA Denmark and ADRA Netherlands.

When?

The project started on the 1st of January 2010 and will end on the 31st of December 2010.