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Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau

WOMEN in Makonde district, Mashonaland West Province, have pledged their commitment towards the successful implementation of various Agric4She projects to help boost the economy and fight domestic violence and early marriages.

Speaking after a tour of Mrs Sherekete Chidoba’s agricultural projects at her homestead some 35 kilometres from Chinhoyi, women applauded the First Lady for spearheading initiatives that are also meant to empower and uplift their lives.

Mrs Chidoba’s homestead was designated an Agric4she Centre of Excellence in Mashonaland West Province.

The First Lady was represented by Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank (ZWMB) chief executive, Dr Mandas Marikanda.

For Eunice Muchenje from Makonde’s Ward 7, who benefited from Amai Mnangagwa’s compassion, the call by the First Lady for women to participate in various Agric4She projects is an empowerment tool for women who are usually looked down upon.

She was among plenty of women who received tree seedlings, sunflower seed and pesticides from the First Lady yesterday.

Ms Rose Getsi from Ward 13, who was among 69 families that received 10 free range chicks from the First Lady under her Poultry4She programme, said the gesture was going to help her raise money to support her children.

She envisaged to rear the chicks and multiply them for resale and domestic consumption.

“We are certainly benefiting from the First Lady’s hard work and encouragement,” said Ms Getsi. “We promise to make her proud by working hard and rallying behind the Agric4She programme.

“This will in turn end domestic violence since women will now have their own money and can contribute something in the home unlike in the past when they expected men to do everything.”

Mrs Mandas Marikanda who was representing First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa hands over chicks to women under the Livestock4She programme in Makonde

Ms Modesta Gwanzura from the defunct former mining settlement of Mhangura said the love by the First Lady and her teachings required to be emulated and followed for Zimbabwe to achieve Vision 2030.

Mrs Chidoba (54), who stays with her husband and their two children at a six-hectare plot at Arcadia Farm has thriving maize, cotton and soya bean plots under Pfumvudza, an orchard and a horticulture project.

She is also rearing livestock and free range chickens.

She took time to explain how her projects have succeeded, before encouraging other women to embrace Horticulture4SHE, Pfumvudza4She and Trees4She programmes which were initiated by Dr Mnangagwa.

The host farmer said it was prudent for women to be part of the Agric4She programme which offered many benefits and helped people stay strong and healthy.

“We are learning new things from the First Lady through this programme,” she said. “Horticulture has sustained my family and I have also taken my maize and soya bean produced from the Pfumvudza plots to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

“As women, we can achieve much more by working hard and working together.”

Mrs Chidoba thanked the First Lady for visiting their village.

At the homestead, Dr Marikanda, representing the Agric4She patron, joined Mrs Chidoba, Government ministers and other women in harvesting tomatoes from the garden where the host farmer uses drip irrigation.

Under Trees4She, Dr Mnangagwa’s representative led in the planting of naartjie fruit trees.

Dr Mandas Marikanda who was representing the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa joins women in harvesting tomatoes from Mrs Chidoba’s horticulture garden in Makonde

In the speech read on her behalf to hundreds of women that thronged the homestead, Dr Mnangagwa said women were an important pillar that continued to support the transformation of Zimbabwe’s economy, hence the establishment of Agric4She by Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to further their participation while in turn empowering a lot of them.

“Women are the support structure of our food security,” she said. “Their participation in food production shouldn’t be looked down upon, but appreciated. For Zimbabwe to achieve Food Security and Nutrition Goals under Vision 2030, women have to work very hard so that each household has enough food and money.

“Under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) blueprint’s Agricultural and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, the Ministry of Agriculture is working on intensifying accessibility of inputs and livestock by rural women.”

Under Pfumvudza4She, the First Lady said at least 17 000 women mostly elderly widows, orphans, the disabled and those that failed to benefit under the Presidential Inputs Scheme received fertiliser, seed and chemicals last year.

Dr Mnangagwa, who hinted on the Pfumvudza4She national competition this year, encouraged women to adhere to good agronomic practices to realise a bumper harvest.

“I urge you to adhere to good agronomic practices that include weeding, applying top dressing fertilisers and also using pest and insecticides to curb fall armyworm,” she said. “This year, as women, we want to support the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development’s 2023 theme: Going 4 Growth.”

The First Lady rallied women to take part in Livestock4She project where three million families were expected to receive chicks for rearing countrywide.

“I would be glad if women form clubs and rear these chickens that will be availed as broilers, layers and free range birds,” she said.

The First Lady also implored all women to be part of all the Agric4She projects so that they did not lag behind in terms of development.

“Under Goats4She, I encourage you also to be involved,” she said. “Government is giving 600 000 she-goats and 35 000 he-goats. I want to urge you to productively keep these goats and desist from consuming them so that we realise positive outcome at the end of the day.”

An encouragement was made to women towards Piggery4She, Dairy4She, Beef4She, Sheep4She that also speak to the country’s Livestock Recovery Plan.

She challenged women to take a leaf from Mrs Chidoba’s horticultural activities that have seen her make a name in the area as tomato, okra and pepper producer.

“Under horticulture, each household is earmarked to received 10 fruit-tree seedlings, 50 sweet potato seeds. The Government is also giving vegetable seeds and 35 000 community gardens to support each ward in the country are being set up.

“I want to urge women to also value add their horticultural produce including drying vegetables,” she said adding women should also value add indigenous fruits to produce juice, jam and dry them for consumption during off-season.

She revealed that 50 percent of women were involved in Horticulture4She countrywide.

In her welcoming remarks, Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka said the First Lady’s programme was good for the province and the nation’s development in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030.

“As a province, we are solidly behind the Agric4She programme being spearheaded by you Amai,” she said. “The importance and contribution of this will surely leave no women and place behind.

“However, although women are the drivers of the economy, I want to warn you against selling inputs that you are receiving here today but use them for better yield outputs.

“The Agric4She programme is a critical milestone that speaks to Vision 2030 and NDS1, but it can only be realised if all women rally behind.”

Over 1 200 women from the district yesterday received top dressing fertilisers from the First Lady, while 500 farmers were availed with one kilogramme of tick grease.

Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Deputy Minister Jennifer Mhlanga and senior Government officials also attended in support of the First Lady.