For the next few weeks, I am going to highlight our videos, 'Voices
from the Field'. They offer a brief overview of the perspectives of
different farmers who have been involved in our on-going research in
Masvingo province. They don't try and offer a full picture of land
reform in Zimbabwe, with all the background and history, as hoped for by some,
but just a flavour or what people are up to. The case studies in each
film are introduced by an overview of the project that lasts for about a
minute.
This week, I want to introduce, Mrs Masiiwa who is an entrepreneurial
farmer on an A1 villagised site in Gutu district, Lonely farm. She has a
mix of crops, including maize, groundnuts, beans, bambarra nuts and
also vegetables. Part of her field is on a vlei (wetland). This means
she is able to grow some crops under hand irrigation from a well. She
sells locally but also transports produce to the informal market in
Masvingo, where she sells them to traders. Some traders export produce,
selling in South Africa. She makes a tidy profit that she is reinvesting
in her farm, but also spending the proceeds on supporting her children
and their schooling. She hopes to fence her field, and buy a pump to
expand her irrigation. She has already bought a cell phone from her
proceeds, as well as some pigs which she feeds with feed purchased from
crop sales.
For the full set, go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/ZimLandReform
This post was written by Ian Scoones and originally appeared on Zimbabweland
