Village Head Wins Regenerative Farming Award

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

VILLAGE head for Ndlovu village outside Victoria Falls, Mr Abel Ndlovu is leading his subjects by example after he won the farmer of the year in Kachechete ward.

This comes after the community embraced the concept of regeneration pioneered by Igugu Trust, to revitalise communities to enhance their livelihoods through sustainable use of soils, pastures, forests and small grains.

Igugu trust was formed in 2017 to encourage care and well-being for communities and all living systems, and for the soil by providing trainings to Hwange community and other organizations on regeneration. The concept envisions a future with communal food sovereignty, individuals that are proud of their roots, deeply connected to their source of life, soil health, food systems, human health, climate health and economic viability, all dovetailing with the Second Republic’s vision for an upper middle income society by 2030.

Igugu Trust introduced the boma concept, where an un-transparent canvas sail is used to make a pen balanced on poles for the perimeter with the canvas is put right round.

Farmers tour Mr and Mrs Ndlovu’s field

This has helped re-fertilise fields that had become less productive due to over-farming and erosion.

Cattle are penned in a boma in the field to add manure to the soil.

Working with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Igugu Trust is promoting sustainable farming on 292 households in BH8, BH9, BH23, BH24 and BH25.

The objectives of the programme is to refertilise fields, encourage planting of small grains and multiply them through sharing seeds, encouraging youth participation, improving quality of life and foster development and food security for both people and animals.

The programme also encourages business cooperation, cultural development, building a future resource base and ultimately remove dependency on donors.

Mr Ndlovu, who is chairperson of all village heads in Ndlovu,  and his wife Ms Josephine Ncube started using the boma concept in November last year and on planting and used intercropping where they put together maize, groundnuts, cow peas and pumpkins which provided live mulching and reduced weeds.

“I feel very happy and uplifted to be the winner. When the programme came through I embraced it which shows that as a leader I am following guidelines given to us by experts.

“We have advocated for the programme to be embraced by everyone so that it works for us all. I once won as a farmer but I stopped serious farming when my field because infertile. When they brought the boma concept I reluctantly took it up and today it has given me results,|” said Mr Ndlovu.

He said he was happy that his subjects will be food secure through the concept.

The winning couple was given mash wire to fence their homestead as part of its prize.

Kachechete councilor Givemeagain Moyo shakes hands with one of Dimbangombe directors at a field day organised by Igugu Trust and Agritex

Senior Agritex officer in Hwange West Mr Memory Sibanda said judges focused on use of proper soil fertility management, land preparation plant population, timeliness of operations, weed management, record keeping and using conservation farming.

Igugu Trust founder and lead facilitator Mrs Precious Phiri said the idea was to create communities that are resilient.

“The whole concept is about regeneration where we are saying lets sustainably use our forests so that our cattle get grazing pastures which in turn will give us manure through use of bomas and ultimately we get good yields. Regeneration covers every aspect of life including us having to live in harmony and together in life,” she said.

Kachechete ward 3 councillor Givemeagain Moyo said development comes in a food secure community where everyone’s energy is directed to projects.