By Callisto Nhamo
Joseph Gwatiringa (32) is a youth farmer from Mafuruse village in ward 10, Bikita under Chief Mkanganwi. Joseph has been undertaking an indigenous poultry project in his homestead and says it has strengthened his family’s livelihood and improved their nutrition.
“Since I started my poultry project, my family’s livelihood has changed for the better. I started with 15 indigenous chickens and 20 turkeys in October 2021 and now l have 50 chickens and 48 turkeys. I have begun selling the chickens and turkeys to other community members and this has changed my life. My pricing is based on the inputs I put in my project. I sell my turkeys and chickens for 12 US dollars and 7 US dollars respectively,” says Joseph.
Joseph says indigenous poultry birds are much better than broiler chickens because of the former’s resilience, affordability and ease of adaptability to the local environment. He adds that the project has synergies with his gardening and his homestead.
“My project is completely organic. I have an organic garden where l produce horticultural products which benefit directly from this indigenous poultry project. I use chicken droppings to make organic compost for my crops. The chickens and turkeys also reduce waste around the homestead,” says Joseph.
Joseph says he has been working with the support of PELUM Zimbabwe member, Schools and Colleges Permaculture (SCOPE) Zimbabwe.
“We are providing training to smallholder farmers like Joseph so that they are able to produce food for their families,” says Chipo Nyamukungwa (24) the Programme Officer for SCOPE Zimbabwe.
Farai Mafuruse (40), the village head says this initiative is very welcome in his village because it is one of the drought prone areas of Bikita and many struggle to provide food for their families.
“Bikita is a dry area. Animal production thrives here because crops are very difficult to grow. In most cases we encourage farmers to conduct integrated farming in order to have sustainable production,” he says.
Joseph encouraged other youths to copy such projects to reduce hunger and poverty in their homes and communities.
