MUTASA — Preservation of wetlands has paid off for villagers in Mutasa as they are producing enough food for their families, with the surplus being sold to surrounding drought stricken areas.
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
Most districts in Manicaland, notably Buhera have been seriously affected by recurrent droughts, forcing villagers to rely on food hand-outs for survival. But the case is different with villagers in Domborutinhira, Muponda area under Chief Mutasa. Despite the poor rains the villagers managed to produce a bumper crop thanks to their relentless efforts to preserve existing wetlands.
Today over 120 households are surviving on a six hectare plot under irrigation from water fed to the local dam from a wetland. The wetland constantly supplies water to a spring which feeds a nearby dam and then to the gardens via a canal.
Each household is allocated a 0, 2 hectare plot for growing horticulture produce and crops such as maize and rice. Apart from horticulture, villagers are implementing projects such as beekeeping, making basket and chairs from sustainable harvesting of vertivar grass and reeds.
Headman Benny Nemaunga said water levels dropped in 2008 due to high demand for fresh water from villages one and two after some boreholes broke down. There are 10 villages in Domborutinhira but only five are directly benefitting from the wetland, according to Nemaunga.
He said lack of a fence to barricade the wetland was also a challenge as livestock and villagers were scrambling for clean water, disturbing smooth flow of water to the gardens in the process.
“We have managed to control villagers because water levels were going down due to poor management of the wetlands,” Nemaunga said.
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“We are happy that our people are surviving from the management of these wetlands. Life has changed for the better because food security has been boosted.” Vice chairperson for Domborutinhira wetlands project, Cecil Mupunga said villagers were benefitting from the project.
He said the project was directly benefitting five villages and 10 indirectly through use of water and farm produces.
Mupunga has managed to feed and send his children to school through proceeds he gets from the horticulture project.
He said the major challenge was lack of farming inputs to boost their yields and funds to procure building material to construct a concrete canal to the gardens.
“Our families are surviving from the proceeds we are getting from the garden. Wetlands are a very critical source of livelihood and they should be conserved at all cost. We urge other communities to do the same,” said Mupunga.
Another beneficiary, Memory Saungweme said wetlands were a critical source of livelihood as she has managed to raise her kids through selling horticulture produce such as vegetables and tomatoes.
“I have managed to produce surplus food for sell to Mutare. I produce potatoes, rice and maize to feed my family,” she said.
“The only challenge we have is shortage of chemicals to treat our rice. Wetlands are sacred and should not be tampered with because our ancestors used to survive from preserving these areas because they give us food.”
On a good month, Saungweme said she can earn up to US$120 from selling the horticulture produce. She can afford to pay fees, buy clothes and food for her family.
Village head John Chimboza who clinched an award at this year’s Harare Agriculture Show as Best Overall Communal Farmer said he was grateful that conserving wetlands finally paid off for his community. He said he used water from the wetland to irrigate his crops.
“As I was growing up, I was told that wetlands were sacred because they saved people’s lives during the dry spell. I won this title because we conserved the wetlands and we got enough water to boost production,” said Chimboza.
The United Nations Environment Programme says wetland areas are highly productive and, if protected, can benefit communities by turning them into tourist resorts.
The success story of Domborutinhira community comes as wetlands are under increasing threat from urbanisation and infrastructure development.
According to United Nations Report on water management it is estimated that by 2025, 1,8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, with two thirds of the world population short of water.
