Bulawayo urban farmers face a bleak future
By Jesca Mudzimu
Mirriam Sibanda (52) lives in Cowdray Park suburb in Bulawayo metropolitan province in Zimbabwe. Mirriam is one of the numerous residents practising informal urban farming, but is now on the verge of giving up following successive droughts that have persistently wiped out her crops.
Mirriam says rainfall patterns have changed, and her area receives less and less rains each passing year. She says this has compromised her livelihood as she used to get adequate food from farming. Miririam says during drought periods in Zimbabwe, women are often abused before they get food. She says when there are adequate rains, women can support their families and raise income for other needs.
“When I started practicing urban farming back in the days, the weather was favourable for farming. I had become one of their biggest suppliers of green maize to local vendors who roast it and sell in town,” says Mirriam.
Mirriam reveals that urban farming used to be lucrative and all open space, some recreational spaces and reserved areas in her suburb were being converted into farmlands. She says farming was crucial especially for distressed families.
“I am a widow and I struggle to make ends meet, that is why I take urban farming seriously because that is where I get food for my grandchildren and I. There are some families that are child headed or elderly people living with grandchildren. Such families had also come to rely on urban farming as a source of livelihood. The country’s economy is fragile such that even some people who are gainfully employed also practice urban farming,” says Mirriam.
This year, weather forecast indicated that the country would receive normal to above normal rains, but Mirriam says the drought this is one of the worst that she has experienced.
“It is hard and painful this year because we were not warned of any possibility of a drought. In fact, we were looking forward to a bumper harvest. Now we just watch the crops die and whither,” says Mirriam.
Mirriam says the drought this year will force her to take the route that she tries by all means to ensure that she has food on the table.
“I do not like bothering my children who live in South Africa with request for food. I know that they are facing challenges there but I have no option but to send an SOS to them. I am now experiencing the realities of climate change. I do not think urban farming will ever be the same again,” says Mirriam.
In Mirriam’s neighbourhood, 30 year old Sandile Dube is also argonising over the worsening climate conditions in her community.
“I used to harvest eight to nine buckets of maize, two to three buckets of groundnuts and sweet potatoes. However it will not be the case this year as all the crops have perished because of lack of moisture and high temperatures,” says Sandile.
“My family and I used to enjoy farm delicacies such as roasted corn, groundnuts and many other farm products even though we were residing in the city. Urban farming was productive because we were receiving adequate rains,” says Sandile.
Sandile adds that due to the adverse effects of climate change, women who constitute the majority of the urban farmers were struggling to support their families.
“The majority of urban farmers are women and children. Farming is their source of livelihood and with the successive droughts, women are sinking more into poverty and they have to be more dependent on external help. This makes them more vulnerable to abuse,” says Sandile.
Sandile says when there is food shortage in the country, women face sexual and physical abuse from men who will be responsible for government food distribution programmes or men who will be selling mealie-meal on the black market.
