Mennonite Central Committee Canada is supporting Kulima Mbobumi Training Center with a four year and two months agriculture and livelihood project in Binga district, Zimbabwe.
Consecutive years of drought have compounded poverty and food security rates among a population that primarily relies on rain for agriculture livelihoods. Additionally, the area employs poor farming practices that have led to the outbreak of pests like fall army worm and ultimately decreased crop and food production.
Livestock diseases and deaths have also risen due to declining quality and availability of pasture due to poor management practices. A previous project worked to introduce and train farmers in conservation agriculture (CA) practices. CA aims at improving soil fertility, increasing crop production, and building the resilience of agriculture systems to shocks. This project will continue to build on these activities by training new farmers through farmer-field schools, building marketing skills, and will introduce CA mechanization.
Additionally, this project will work to improve livestock health by improving fodder production and train community members to be animal health workers. It will also introduce new breeds of livestock that are better suited to drought and climate conditions in Binga.
This project will benefit 1,500 farmers and their families (4,900 people).