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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matd South Bureau Chief

GOGO Sifelani Dube and her husband, Dannie Dube are both in their 70s but are still diligently working on their farm in Lumene Village in Gwanda, Zimbabwe. Despite their age, the couple is determined to maintain their farming practices and record good harvests each year.

In an interview during a visit to their homestead, Dannie said, “Farming has always been our culture and way of life, and that’s why we have stuck to it even when we have become aged.”

Dannie Dube show his traditional grain crops

For Sifelani and Dannie, farming is a way of remaining productive and staying fit. They believe that being hands-on on the farm is essential to their physical and mental well-being. Although they have employed a worker to assist them in the fields, they are still actively involved in the farming activities, cultivating four plots of sorghum and two plots of maize.

The couple prefers the traditional way of farming, which is gatshompo, over modern technologies that make ploughing easier. They claim that this farming method has helped them harvest even during poor rainy seasons. They have also implemented water conservation methods to help retain water in their fields.

Dannie said, “We did our basins to apply mulch and compound D fertiliser before planting. These basins hold water; it’s not the same as using an animal-drawn plough. Sometimes when it’s too dry, we start by tilling the soil and then we go on to dig the basins, and this helps to hold water.”

In 2014, Sifelani started planting traditional grains, which have been their ideal crops ever since. Although many complain that traditional grains are labour-intensive, she believes that working hard and recording a bumper harvest is better than opting for the easy way out, which leads to hunger.

Sifelani said, “We might be of age, but we have received education, and we know that we have to adapt to climate change. We have to adopt smart farming practices to ensure that our yield increases.”

The elderly couple has also found a solution to scare away quelea birds that pose a threat to the production of traditional grains. They have mounted an artificial bird above their field, which has proven to be effective.

“Farming requires hard work in order to record a good harvest. The hard work may come in the form of keeping watch in the fields in order to scare away birds, processing the harvest or any other way. What should motivate the farmer is that the hard work will result in food security,” Sifelani said.

Acting provincial director of Agricultural Rural Development and Advisory Services for Matabeleland South, Mkhunjulelwa Ndlovu said farmers have to learn from the work of the elderly couple. He said some farmers were underutilising their land while others were sticking to maize production while it was not yielding much fruits. He said farmers have to be highly productive.–@DubeMatutu