The Shashe farms in the Runde catchment area of Zimbabwe extend across three villages. Since 2010, over 500 families from the region have worked alongside ZIMSOFF (Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum) and AZTREC (Association of Zimbabwe Traditional Environmental Conversationists) to revive arid cattle-ranching land into rich, abundant food forests.

Five years after the catastrophic Cyclone Idai hit Chimanimani District in Zimbabwe, claiming over 500 lives and causing extensive destruction, the community's journey towards recovery and resilience offers a beacon of hope. This article by John Willson delves into the heart of Chimanimani's efforts, showcasing how the district is confronting...

This document sheds light on the ongoing efforts in Eastern and Southern Africa to develop National Agroecology Strategies (NASs), aiming to transform agri-food systems through the promotion of agroecological production practices, and the development of markets, value chains, and consumer demand. The brief offers an unique insight into policy advancements...

Agroecology is a transdisciplinary, participatory, and action-oriented approach for co-designing options that enhance food system resilience, equity, and sustainability. Working in eight countries of the Global South, the CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology seeks effective ways to put this approach into practice. In each country, the Initiative concentrates on one or...

The case study comes from the north-western part of Zimbabwe, the Hurungwe district of Mashonaland West province, where local communities experience high levels of human-wildlife conflict. The area is also vulnerable to the transmission of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) from the African buffalo to cattle, which can devastate farmers'...

My wife and I have always dreamt about going back to the rural areas to start farming. Mainly to start growing our own food, spending days tending a flock of chickens, and maybe growing a big garden for our family and perhaps allow our children to enjoy what nature is...

From as early as I can remember, my grandparents inspired me with their love for gardening and growing food. They were enthusiastic, knowledgeable and instinctively knew how to grow vegetables and fruit. As a young child I would spend many days in the home garden with them, helping to weed...

Since 2000, many African countries have introduced programs aimed at providing smallholder farmers with low-cost certificates for land held un-der customary tenure. Yet there are many contending views and debates on the impact of these land policies and this book reveals how tenure security, agricultural productivity, and social inclusion were...

The Family Farming Knowledge Platform in collaboration with the Barefoot Guide Connection organized a series of “writeshops”, writing classes to support practitioners to write their own experience, generating knowledge which highlight the practices, changes, innovations and impacts of what they do in support of family farming. These writeshops represented an opportunity...

In the early 2000s, the Shashe farming area in Mashava, Zimbabwe, was a barren land, ravaged by deforestation and diminishing water levels. Fast forward two decades, and the region stands transformed into a beacon of agroecological innovation. Nelson Mudzingwa and Elizabeth Mpofu are among the smallholder farmers who pioneered this...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

The main aim of the research was to analyze whether nutrition education and farm production diversification improved household dietary diversity as well as fruit and vegetable consumption among rural households in Zimbabwe. A cross-sectional survey using systematic random sampling was conducted in eight rural districts covering 1417 households. Poisson, Instrumental...

Government officials, fish industry captains, civil society and private sector representatives have launched consultations on a new fisheries and aquaculture bill for Zimbabwe. Hailed as a first of its kind piece of legislation, the bill marks a milestone in efforts by the Southern African nation to bolster its fisheries and...

It was ten days into the first 21 days of lockdown of the COVID-19 crisis. We, like all other families in our neighbourhood, had stocked food in the house, using the little cash we had on food, in fear that we would not be able to go out and buy,...

Partners of a new resilience building initiative in Zimbabwe held a launch meeting in Harare on 7 October 2022, gathering 80 participants, including national agricultural extension programmes, government representatives, academic institutions, government representatives, private sector actors, the media, EU representatives and national agricultural research and development organisations. Entitled "Resilience Building through...

My wife and I have always dreamt about going back to the rural areas to start farming. Mainly to start growing our own food, spending days tending a flock of chickens, and maybe growing a big garden for our family and perhaps allowing our children to enjoy what nature is...

Dear Diary Monday: How did this all begin? From as early as I can remember, my grandparents inspired me with their love for gardening and growing food. They were enthusiastic, knowledgeable and instinctively knew how to grow vegetables and fruit. As a young child I would spend many days in the home...