Stories from the Field

Join Us in Planting Seeds for Strong Communities in Zimbabwe

By Maggie Luckadoo on July 24, 2019

By distributing meals around the globe, Rise Against Hunger meets the immediate needs of those facing hunger. But, what happens next? Over the past few years, Rise Against Hunger has increased its investment in long-term solutions to hunger and poverty, especially in the area of sustainable agriculture. We recently launched projects in Senegal and Mali, and we’re excited to share about a third new agriculture program in Zimbabwe!

Planting Seeds for Strong Communities, in partnership with Adventist Development and Relief Agency Zimbabwe, will establish a sustainable home-grown school feeding program in five schools, providing a safety net for school-age children while stimulating the local agricultural economy in the Gokwe North District.

Rise Against Hunger and ADRA staff meet in Zimbabwe to launch the Planting Seeds for Strong Communities project.

The project will also sustain the gains generated from the Rise Against Hunger-supported Southern Africa School Feeding Initiative, which has provided food assistance following the 2016 El Nino drought. Planting Seeds for Strong Communities will focus on horticulture, indigenous poultry, sunflower, biofortified cowpeas and small grains to strengthen household nutrition and promote women’s empowerment.

Each of the five schools will establish or expand school farms to produce food for daily meals and generate income. Parent volunteers will support this initiative by working in shifts on the school farms. Through school production and procurement from sustainable local sources, the project aims to increase the diversity of foods that school students regularly consume.

Eggs and meat from Boschveld chickens, which are an indigenous breed in Zimbabwe, will be added to school meals and sold to generate income to sustain the school meals.

Training for lead and follower farmers will promote climate-smart agricultural approaches and nutrient-rich varieties, like high-iron beans and orange flesh sweet potatoes. At farmer market schools, the farmers will learn business skills, including financial literacy, record keeping and negotiation so they can successfully connect to markets.

Are you inspired to support long-term solutions to hunger? Donate today to create brighter futures for generations to come!

About the Author

Maggie is Rise Against Hunger's Director of Marketing and Communications and has been a team member since 2016. Maggie works to spread the word about the mission to end hunger and to engage people globally to take action.