Mudzi Farmers Challenged To Go Climate-Smart At Ward 15 Show
The sun beat down on Ward 15’s dusty showground in Mudzi as lines of neatly tied sorghum, pearl millet, cowpeas, groundnuts, and sunflower heads formed a colourful arc around a few tethered goats and cattle. It was a dry season show in every sense – but the mood among farmers was anything but dry.
This year’s Ward 15 Agricultural Dry Show drew a strong turnout of farmers and a standard of exhibits that caught the eye of the district’s top extension staff. For officials, it was more than just a day to hand out prizes. It was a classroom, a warning signal, and a call to change how Mudzi farms in a heating world.
District Agricultural Business Advisory Officer, Mrs P. Manhamo, used the platform to praise local farmers for what she described as a season of hard work and learning – and then challenged them to take the next step.
“What we are seeing here is evidence that you have worked, experimented, and shared knowledge,” said Mrs Manhamo, addressing farmers gathered under a large tree for shade. “Now we must go fully climate-smart and build farming systems that can withstand these changing weather conditions.”
Why Climate-Smart Farming Matters In Mudzi
Mudzi district, in Zimbabwe’s natural regions most prone to drought, has always lived at the mercy of erratic rains. Yet recent years of heat stress and poor rainfall have pushed many households close to the edge, with granaries emptying earlier and livestock grazing growing thinner.
Climate-smart agriculture – often shortened to CSA – has become a central theme in government extension meetings, donor projects, and farmers’ own discussions as they search for ways to keep producing food, even when the rains fail.
FFA Explainer:
Climate-smart agriculture is an approach to farming that does three things at the same time: increases productivity and incomes, helps farmers adapt to climate change (for example, through drought-tolerant crops or water-saving methods), and reduces agriculture’s contribution to climate change, such as through better soil and livestock management. It is promoted under frameworks like Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), AU Agenda 2063, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
For Ward 15, the big message from the show was clear: work with the climate you have, not the climate you wish you had.
Traditional Grains Take Centre Stage
Walking through the crop stands, one could see what Mrs Manhamo meant. While a few maize cobs struggled on the tables, the traditional grains told a different story – full, heavy heads of sorghum and millet from the same fields that had failed to produce decent maize last season.
She urged farmers to lean into that strength.
“This area is suited to traditional grains,” said Mrs Manhamo. “Sorghum, millet, and other small grains are our insurance in Mudzi. They mature with less water, they stand the heat, and they feed our families and livestock.”
The call echoes a wider national policy push towards small grains, supported by agencies such as the FAO and the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. Traditional grains sit at the heart of efforts to build climate resilience in semi-arid districts like Mudzi, Mwenezi, and Beitbridge.
For many farmers, the show was a chance to compare varieties, discuss planting dates, and share how they had handled the patchy rains. Exhibitors joked and argued proudly about whose sorghum had the best head size or whose millet would make the smoothest sadza.
Diversifying Into Groundnuts, Sunflower, Cowpeas, And Livestock
Yet the Ward 15 show was not only about small grains. Tables held neatly graded groundnuts, bottles of hand-pressed sunflower oil, and piles of well-dried cowpeas – a quiet sign that farmers were already adapting their crop mix.
Mrs Manhamo pushed that point home.
“Don’t put all your effort into only one crop,” she told the crowd. “Mix small grains with groundnuts, sunflower, cowpeas, and livestock. That way you spread your risk, you improve nutrition at home, and you open different income streams.”
Each of the promoted crops plays a role:
- Groundnuts bring cash in local markets and add protein to diets.
- Sunflower can be processed into oil or sold as seed, with by-products feeding poultry and goats.
- Cowpeas fix nitrogen in the soil, improve soil health, and provide a reliable legume in dry years.
- Livestock – goats, indigenous chickens, and cattle – act as a savings account and provide manure for fields.
This kind of diversification tallies with advice many farmers have heard from organisations supporting dryland farming, such as World Food Programme projects and development agencies in neighbouring districts.
FFA Explainer:
Diversification means growing a mix of crops and keeping different types of livestock, instead of relying on a single main crop like maize. For smallholders in dry areas, it helps spread risk – if one crop fails due to drought or pests, others may survive. It also improves diets and can create more market options.
Preparing Early For The 2026/27 El Niño Season
One of the sharpest warnings from the Ward 15 show was about timing. Mrs Manhamo called on farmers not to treat climate risks as a surprise but to plan for them, especially for the forecast 2026/27 El Niño season.
El Niño events, monitored and explained by agencies such as the World Meteorological Organization, are often linked to below-normal rainfall in southern Africa. For a district like Mudzi, that can mean another tough year for rain-fed crops.
“Don’t wait for the first cloud to start preparing,” she said. “Prepare now for 2026/27. Secure seed, manage your soil, save money for inputs, and plan your field layout so that every drop of water counts.”
Farmers listening under the trees nodded. Many have already lived through several harsh droughts. For them, the El Niño warning is not an abstract climate model; it is the memory of empty dams, sold-off cattle, and children walking longer distances to fetch water.
Farmer Field Schools As A Local Learning Hub
To turn warnings into practical changes, Mrs Manhamo urged stronger participation in Farmer Field Schools (FFS) across Mudzi. These group-based learning platforms bring farmers together throughout the season to observe, experiment, and learn directly in the field.
FFA Explainer:
A Farmer Field School is a season-long training group where farmers meet regularly in a demonstration plot. They try out new practices – such as planting methods, fertiliser options, or pest control – and measure results together. The method is used widely by extension services and organisations like the FAO to spread practical skills. It encourages farmers to become experimenters, not just recipients of advice.
In Ward 15, extension officers say FFS groups have already tested planting basins, mulching, and intercropping sorghum with cowpeas. The showground exhibits mirrored that work – with some of the heaviest heads and cleanest samples coming from FFS members.
“We want every village represented in these Farmer Field Schools,” said one local extension worker in a side conversation. “When farmers see results in their own soil, that is when change sticks.”
Saving For Inputs And Supporting Grain Reserves
Another strong theme at the show was self-reliance. Instead of waiting each year for last-minute input support, Mrs Manhamo encouraged farmers to build local savings arrangements to buy seed, fertiliser, and small equipment.
“Even small amounts saved regularly can help you buy climate-smart seed or a goat,” she said. “If we save together in groups, we are stronger. We can also support each other when there is a shock.”
Village savings groups and rotational clubs have spread across many parts of Zimbabwe and are now common in rural districts like Mudzi, Rushinga, and Gokwe. Tying these savings schemes to agricultural inputs is a growing trend that helps farmers match their money to the season.
Linked to that was a firm call to support the Grain Reserve Programme, seen by government as a key pillar for national food security.
“When you produce a surplus of small grains or other crops, don’t just sell everything quickly,” urged Mrs Manhamo. “Contribute to grain reserves. This protects your own household and supports the country when there is a bad year.”
For Mudzi, grain reserves are not an abstract concept stored in distant silos; they are also the clay pots in kitchens, the sacks under beds, and the shared community granaries that see families through lean months.
From Subsistence To Commercial Mindset
Perhaps the most ambitious challenge laid down at the Ward 15 show was psychological. Mrs Manhamo asked farmers to start thinking beyond survival, and to see themselves as businesspeople tied into local and regional markets.
“We must move from subsistence to commercial agriculture,” she said. “Even with small pieces of land, you can target quality, plan for the market, and treat your farming as a business.”
Her message aligns with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1, which places smallholder commercialisation at the centre of rural development, and supports broader goals under AU Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Zero Hunger goal.
In practical terms, a commercial mindset in Mudzi can start with simple steps:
- Producing uniform grain or groundnut grades that traders prefer.
- Staggering planting dates to hit better market prices.
- Adding value, such as shelling groundnuts, cleaning and packaging cowpeas, or pressing sunflower oil.
- Forming producer groups to bulk produce and negotiate better prices.
Extension officers say women and youth are often the most eager to try these approaches. Many already run small poultry or goat projects and see the potential in linking crops and livestock more tightly to markets.
Lessons For Other Dry Districts
The Ward 15 Agricultural Dry Show sits within a broader pattern of local shows across Zimbabwe that double as training grounds. In places like Chivi, Mbire, and Tsholotsho, farmers are using similar platforms to showcase drought-tolerant crops, water-harvesting techniques, and climate-resilient livestock breeds.
The Mudzi experience offers a few clear lessons:
- Showground as classroom: Exhibits become live examples of what works under current conditions, rather than abstract recommendations.
- Peer learning: Farmers trust each other’s results. When a neighbour’s millet outperforms maize, others take notice.
- Policy connection: District officers can translate national policies on climate-smart agriculture into concrete actions that farmers can understand and adopt.
- Youth engagement: School agriculture clubs and young farmers, who attended the show in Mudzi, see climate-smart farming as an opportunity, not just a burden.
Traditional grains, climate-smart practices, and Farmer Field Schools will continue to anchor resilience in these districts, especially as weather extremes become more frequent.
A Community Committed To Resilient Food Systems
By the time prizes were handed out and the crowd began to drift home, the Ward 15 showground told its own story. Neatly labelled trays of grain, rows of legumes, the gleam of sunflower oil in recycled bottles, and the low murmur of farmers comparing notes under trees all pointed in one direction – a community that refuses to stand still in the face of climate stress.
The hashtags shared by some younger participants – #MudziAgriculture, #ClimateSmartFarming, #FoodSecurityZW, #Agrishow2026, #TraditionalGrains – captured that spirit in a modern shorthand.
Mudzi’s farmers still face hard seasons ahead, with El Niño on the horizon and markets that do not always reward their efforts. Yet the Ward 15 Agricultural Dry Show suggests they are not walking into that future unprepared.
As one elderly farmer quietly remarked while loading his winning sorghum heads onto a scotch cart, “We can’t stop the sun from burning, but we can change what we plant under it.”
?? Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel to Get Our Updates On Your Mobile
About The Author
