In March 2019, Cyclone Idai made landfall in Zimbabwe damaging large tracts of crops in the eastern parts of the country. Approximately 50,000 households were destroyed and around 270,000 people were impacted.

The torrential rain, ferocious winds, flush floods and landslides brought by Cyclone Idai severely damaged large fields of maize, groundnuts, cowpeas, sorghum and other crops, eradicating people’s livelihoods.

“I lost most of my maize crop and only managed to salvage four bags of maize, additionally, eoght chickens a fowl run and a blair toilet were completely destroyed,” said Thandiwe Saungweme a 52 year old widow of Matanda village in ward 18 of Mutare district.

Thandiwe was also affected economically, as she had no other source of income for food security and the family’s livelihood. The loss of the birds alone resulted in an estimated loss of about USD$7 per chicken. The reconstruction of the fowl run and toilet would cost an estimated US$240. Thandiwe had an additional financial burden of sourcing funds to procure agricultural inputs for the 2019/2020 agricultural season.

“This was a great loss, I used all the savings for the children’s school fees to buy food. Even this was not enough as my six children once slept without food,” added Thandiwe.

“When Cyclone Idai hit, FAO and LEAD came to our rescue through the Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP), giving us knowledge on climate smart agriculture, pre and post-harvest management and most importantly giving us inputs to reestablish our cropping activities. Since then we have been on the path of recovery. Our productivity has increased and we are ready for future natural disasters,” asserted Thandiwe

Thandiwe is also using climate smart technologies like Pfumvudza to increase crop productivity and using hermetic bags provided through the ZIRP to safely store her harvest thus minimizing post harvest lossese and eliminating the use of pesticides which if not used properly can be  detrimental to human health and the environment.

Two years after Cyclone Idai Thandiwe, like many other farmers benefitting from the ZIRP has recorded increased agricultural production and productivity which has contributed to improved household food security.

“With funding from the World Bank and management from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), FAO is implementing the ZIRP in nine districts working in partnership with The Government and implementing partners LEAD and World Vision. The ZIRP was timely and addressed the needs of communities affected by Cyclone Idai. In addition, it provides a mix of investments in agriculture and climate smart agricultural technologies to address drivers of both climate shock and acute food insecurity. FAO is supporting smallholder farmers to rebuild their livelihoods and food security, while strengthening resilience to future shocks; by providing crops and livestock inputs as well as training and extension services. The implementation modality of the ZIRP supports a broader agenda for collaborating and working with the Government of Zimbabwe and other development partners to ensure that no one in Zimbabwe goes hungry,” said Patrice Talla FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa.

Since October 2019, FAO has assisted 10,000 vulnerable farming households to restore their productive capacity by providing crop inputs comprising maize seed, cowpea seed, hermetic bags, basal and top dressing fertilizers. A total of 4,527 livestock farmers have benefitted from livestock inputs consisting of supplementary stock feed   and inputs for fodder production. The provision of crop and livestock inputs is coupled with training, extension and advisory services to farmers.

For the 2020/2021 season, Thandiwe received, 10kg of maize seed which she planted on a 0.4ha plot, 2.5kg of cowpea seed together with 100kg of Ammonium nitrate and 100kg of compound D fertilizer.  Which resulted in improved production on maize for the farmer.

“To date I have threshed 16 bags of maize and bagged 12 buckets into the 4x50kg hermetic bags that I received from ZIRP. I am still in the process of threshing my maize and expect to attain 30 bags of maize from just 0.4 hectares something I did not dream I would ever achieve,” said Thandiwe

Thandiwe plans to sell surplus maize to improve livelihoods and her standard of living.

“I only need 16 bags for household consumption up to the next harvest. I will then sell the remaining 14 bags of maize to help pay for my children`s school fees, procure inputs for next season and if there is any surplus cater for other household needs,” added Thandiwe.

Seeing is believing

To showcase the impact of the ZIRP intervention on productivity, Thandiwe hosted a field day whereby other farmers, agricultural professionals, extension workers, grain end users, local leaders, and even children came to witness the new climate smart technologies and farming techniques she and other ZIRP beneficiaries had used to increase crop productivity.

To show appreciation of Thandiwe’s work K2 [Klein Karoo Seed Company], rewarded Thandiwe with 5kg maize, 2kg white sorghum and 2kg Red sorghum seeds, this will result in her increasing her hectarage for the 2021/2022 agricultural season.

A recent joint monitoring tour of project sites – including that of Thandiwe – conducted by Department of Civil Protection (DCP) and UNOPS noted that, “Project beneficiaries are evidently more motivated and purposeful in their approach to agriculture and livelihoods” and that there is “a primer for food security and enhanced post-harvest food preservation and storage.”