By Sheunesu Njeke

Leonard Mugwadi (33), a small scale farmer who lives in Kanjera village of Bikita district says applying agroecological principles to his farming practices has helped to reduce costs of production and boost his profits. 

Leonard is doing mixed farming but strongly focusing on pig rearing for income generation. Through training from PELUM Zimbabwe member, Schools and Colleges Permaculture (SCOPE) Zimbabwe, Leonard has learned how to apply agroecological principles such as recycling, synergies, and input reduction.  By applying these principles in his pig farming project, it has grown tremendously in just three years.

“I started with one sow in June 2020 and now I have close to 200 pigs. Use of locally available resources helps me to increase and expand my project. My project is holistic. I get grain from my crop fields which I use as feed for the pigs and the waste from the pigs is used as manure for my crops. Nothing is wasted at my homestead,” says Leonard.

Mary Mubaiwa (43), another small scale farmer from Kanjera village says working with SCOPE Zimbabwe has helped shape sustainable agriculture in the community. She says the standards of living for community members have significantly improved as a result.

“After constantly interacting with SCOPE Zimbabwe, our knowledge on sustainable farming has immensely improved. The standard of living in this community has improved owing to trainings on livelihood projects like piggery that are promoting the economy of our community,” she says. 

Samson Kanjera (55), village head and ward 15 councillor says he would want more people to take up integrated and sustainable agricultural practices and emulate the work being done by Leonard. 

“Projects being practiced by Leonard are self-sustaining and provide employment for our youth.  I would encourage more youths to take up such sustainable projects and create employment for themselves,” he says.