{"id":372,"date":"2017-03-10T07:21:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T07:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esaff.org\/?p=372"},"modified":"2017-03-10T07:21:19","modified_gmt":"2017-03-10T07:21:19","slug":"going-agroecology-zimbabwe-villagers-ditch-chemical-fertilizers-imported-skills-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esaff.org\/index-php\/going-agroecology-zimbabwe-villagers-ditch-chemical-fertilizers-imported-skills-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Going agroecology, Zimbabwe villagers ditch chemical fertilizers, imported skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

17-6-2011<\/em><\/p>\n

In Topora village, Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe, farmers have successfully started practicing agroecology, a fist in the country.<\/p>\n

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\nThe crops they produce are completely organic,\u00a0 produced with local knowledge and traditional skills. This means they are not using chemical fertilizers or even imported production skills. This has become a source of pride and honour for the village.
\nThe village shares a demonstration vegetable garden of agroecology where farmers learn and practice agro ecology collectively, called the Topora Demo field. It is an area of about a hectare, where farmers from different villages around Masvingo District meet at least twice a week to practice and exchange their agroecology knowledge.
\nOliat Mauramba is one of those farmers. He goes to Topora every Tuesday and Friday to meet his \u201ccomrades\u201d for the practices as well as to share what he learned from the workshops he used to attend outside the village.
\n\u201cI am one of the farmers who used to attend training workshops in Harare and other places. I have the responsibility to report back and share all the information with them,\u201d said Mauramba who is one of the participants of the African Encounter on Agroecology, organized by La Via Campesina, in Masvingo.<\/p>\n

So far, the Topora Demo Field has helped train farmers from at least 15 villages on agroecology since 2003.\u00a0\u00a0 Organic farming is now used by about by about eight thousand farmers who are members of the Zimbabwe Small Holder Organic Farmer\u2019s Forum, ZIMSOFF, a national organization, committed to the promotion of agroecology in the country and a member of ESAFF.
\n\u201cWe grow our own seeds for the village and we multiply them,\u201d explained Kumbirai Dekete, an older farmer who demonstrated how he works the land to a group of farmers from other African countries.
\nIn fact, more than 200 farmers have been supplied with native seeds from the Topora demo field since it was established.<\/p>\n

In Topora, farmers grow diverse crops ecologically, like tomatoes, vegetables, spinach, rapes, sugar beans, herbs, tsunga and more. Part of the production is donated to the local hospital in Topora. \u201c We provide healthy organic food for the people who are ill in the hospital,\u201d said Mauramba.
\nAccording to Elisabeth Mpofu, the president of ZIMSOFF, and Vice Chair of Eastern and Southern Africa small scale Farmers\u2019 Forum (ESAFF), the demo fields are very useful because farmers easily adopt the knowledge and practice. \u201cCurrently in our country we have many of them. The greatest advantage is that the local market for organically grown products is steadily growing while we are in the process of also getting access to the certified organic markets for exportation,\u201d she says.
\nWhile exports can help supplement farmers\u2019 incomes, the greatest advantage of agroecological, according to the Via Campesina, is to provide abundant and healthy food for local people, what is called \u201cFood Sovereignty.\u201d (Story from LVC Communication Team in Africa)
\nClick here for more information<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

17-6-2011 In Topora village, Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe, farmers have successfully started practicing agroecology, a fist in the country. The crops they produce are completely organic,\u00a0 produced with local knowledge and traditional skills. This means they are not using chemical fertilizers or even imported production skills. This has become a source of pride and honour… <\/p>\n

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