Promotion of climate-resilient lifestyles among rural families in Umguza district of Zimbabwe

Promotion of climate resilient lifestyles among rural families in Umguza district of Zimbabwe.

(English description of the project below the Danish text)

CISU har bevilget 499.950 DKK til et projekt i Umguza distrikt i Zimbabwe. Projektet vil blive implementeret over en periode af 18 måneder.

Den globale klimaændring har ramt Zimbabwe meget hårdt. Dels har der i de sidste 10 år været voldsomme orkaner, der har ført til ødelæggelse af afgrøder, veje, broer og huse. Dels har der været lange tørkeperioder og klimaet er generelt på vej til at blive semiaridt. Hyppigheden af ekstremt vejr har ført til voldsomme ændringer af dagligdag og levevilkår. Fødevareusikkerheden er vokset og lange perioder har der hersket hungersnød for de mest sårbare dele af befolkningen, kvinder og børn. Umguza projektet forsøger at ændre landbruget således at det bliver tilpasset den nye virkelighed og således at befolkningen bliver mere resilient overfor ændringerne.

Projektet har 3 formål:

At øge husstandenes kapacitet indenfor økologisk landbrug og med teknologier der opbygger frugtbarheden og binder kulstof i jorden
Projektet vil styrke bøndernes institutionelle kapacitet indenfor planlægning og tilpasning til klimaændringerne
Projektet vil styrke viden og vidensdeling om klimaændringerne

NAWT – Nhaka Africa Worlview Trust og SuG har opbygget et arbejdsfællesskab og har allerede implementeret 2 CISU financierede projekter i fællesskab. Dette er det tredje. De to første har været i den østlige del af Zimbabwe i Mutassa distrikt. Dette er i den vestlige del af Zimbabwe.

Den model der vil blive brugt overfor målgruppen er træning af trænere. Ud over brug af frivillige fra lokalområdet vil der foregå træning i et nyetableret resourcecenter for klima ændrings tilpasning. Centeret vil blive udstyret med borehul og solcelle pumpe til dette. Her vil der blive etableret demonstrations haver med traditionelle tørkeresistente afgrøder og dyrkningssystemer tilpasset klima vilkår i konstant forandring.

Hovedparten af bønderne er kvinder og deres evne i beslutningsprocesser og til at tage lederskab vil blive styrket. Dette sker gennem etablering af grupper med strukturer der fremmer dette.

Vidensdeling er en vigtig del af projektet. Der vil ske dokumentation af de forsøg der foregår i demonstrationshaver og hos målgruppen og viden om de bedste resultater vil blive delt.

Indikatorer for at projektet lykkes er at 70% af husholdninger anvender klimatilpassede dyrkningssystemer og afgrøder i deres marker. Bønderne vil fortsat søge og dele viden om klimaændringerne og vejrprognoser for dermed at kunne forebygge og styrke deres resiliens overfor disse; 60% vil deltage i kollektive input og output marketing og der vil være en vækst på 10% i husstandens indkomst.

Promotion of climate-resilient lifestyles among rural families in Umguza district of Zimbabwe

The livelihoods of rural households in Zimbabwe continue to be affected by both systemic and idiosyncratic shocks, which include, but are not limited to, systemic shocks such as climatic shocks (drought and prolonged mid-season dry spells, floods, water logging, crop and livestock pests, hailstorms), and economic shocks, notable sharp changes of cereals and livestock prices. This has resulted in increased vulnerability and fragility in rural households, especially in drought-prone regions such as Umguza district (in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe) where most of the people rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. The worsening agricultural conditions, which are an effect of climate change, have contributed to and worsened situations of food insecurity, malnourishment, and undernourishment. Many smallholder families live in a sustained state of hunger, and as of January 2023, 5,8 million people of the 15 million population need food aid.

Nhaka Africa Worldview Trust (NAWT) in collaboration with Senior without Borders (SwB), will be undertaking an 18-month intervention that will contribute towards improved resilience of vulnerable and food-insecure populations in the disaster-prone Umguza district. The project is targeting 250 vulnerable smallholder farming households in ward 14 (60% female), Umguza district, increasing their capacity to effectively cope, adapt to and recover from climatic shocks and stresses. This will be achieved through three main areas:

a) Increasing households’ capacities in sustainable agricultural production practices and climate-smart technologies. The target households will be reached using a training of trainers approach using community-trained volunteers. In addition, they will also be trained at an established Climate Change Adaptive Resource Centre (CCARC) which will be equipped with solar-powered boreholes and demo gardens. The project will procure and promote traditional grains (sorghum, millet, finger millet) which are drought tolerant.
b) Secondly, the project will enhance farmers’ institutional capacities for comprehensive climate change adaptation planning. This will see the facilitation of farmer groups with capacitated leadership structures where women will also occupy decision-making positions.
c) Thirdly the project will enhance climate change knowledge dissemination. This will see the documentation and sharing of best practices, carrying out of climate change awareness and adaption actions among stakeholders and households. Knowledge-sharing sessions will be organized where target households will showcase their work to the outside world.

As a result of the intervention, it is anticipated that 70% of the households will be applying climate-smart agriculture practices and technologies in their fields; all of them will be using climate information to implement risk-reducing actions thereby improving their resilience to climate change shocks; 60% will be participating in collective input and output marketing actions; and more importantly, they will be a 10% increase in family income.

The project has been given a grant from CISU: DKK 499,950.- on the 20th December 2022.