PELUM Zimbabwe

PELUM Zimbabwe is a dynamic network of civil society organizations committed to upscaling participatory ecological land use management practices. Their overarching goal is to enhance nutrition security, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability for smallholder farmers across Zimbabwe. They are a crucial part of the broader PELUM Association, which originated in 1995 with its first secretariat based in Zimbabwe, highlighting the country's foundational role in the network.

Vision and Mission: A Sustainable Future for Zimbabwean Farmers

PELUM Zimbabwe's vision, aligning with the regional PELUM Association, is for communities in East, Central, and Southern Africa to be self-organized and empowered to make choices that lead to an improved quality of life – one that is socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable.

Their mission is specifically "To upscale participatory ecological land use management practices for improved nutrition security, livelihoods and environmental sustainability." This mission emphasizes practical, on-the-ground implementation of agroecological principles.

The role of women in preserving traditional knowledge

How PELUM Zimbabwe Works: A Network of Action

PELUM Zimbabwe doesn't directly implement projects with individual farmers. Instead, it operates as a network of member organizations. These member organizations are local NGOs, faith-based organizations, civil society organizations, and community-based organizations that are legally registered and have a proven track record of working with small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe to promote sustainable livelihoods. This structure allows PELUM Zimbabwe to leverage the expertise and reach of various local actors, ensuring that their work is context-specific and deeply embedded within communities.

In its early years, PELUM Zimbabwe was instrumental in capacity building and even established the PELUM College Zimbabwe, which was notably described as the first agro-ecological "school without walls" in Southern Africa, providing crucial training in agroecology.

Key Program Areas and Focus: Nurturing Land and Livelihoods

PELUM Zimbabwe's work revolves around several key program areas, all interconnected and focused on building resilience in farming communities:

1. Strengthening and Defending Agroecology:

   • This is at the core of their efforts. They advocate for agroecology as a holistic approach to food and agriculture that is not only environmentally sound but also socially just and economically viable.
   • They work to deepen consciousness, skills, and collective capacity for transformative agroecology among farmers and stakeholders.

2. Zimbabwe Seed Sovereignty Programme (ZSSP):

   • This is a flagship initiative, a collaborative, multi-year program conceived in 2014 by PELUM Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF), along with several other organizations.
   • Vision of ZSSP: "Towards seed sovereign farming communities who improve and sustain their livelihoods."
   • Purpose: To protect and promote smallholder farmers' rights and their ability to produce, trade, and save a wide diversity of open-pollinated and traditional seeds of high quality.
   • Key Activities:
     • Farmer-Managed Seed Systems (FMSS): Strengthening these systems to reduce farmers' dependence on external inputs and commercial seed companies. This involves improving capacities to produce sufficient quantities, quality, and diversity of locally suitable seed varieties.
     • National and District Food and Seed Festivals: These annual events, like the "Celebrating the Wonder of Zimbabwean Millets" festival in 2023, serve as vital platforms for promoting the growing and consumption of safe, healthy, and nutritious traditional Zimbabwean foods, as well as for the sharing, exchange, and trade of farmer-managed seeds.
     • Youth Participation: Engaging youth in sustainable agriculture and agricultural value chains through knowledge and cultural exchanges.
     • Advocacy and Policy Influence: Increasing PELUM Zimbabwe's influence in policymaking and public opinion to foster recognition and support for farmers' rights to seed, farmer-led community seed systems, and associated seed sovereignty. They advocate for policies that prioritize traditional varieties and agroecological practices over conventional, input-intensive agriculture.
     • Knowledge Sharing: Documenting and sharing knowledge and innovations in agroecology and seed saving.

3. Community Ecological Governance (CEG):

   • While the PELUM Association broadly embraces CEG, for PELUM Zimbabwe, this often translates into empowering communities to collectively manage their land and natural resources sustainably. This includes promoting practices like Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) to restore degraded land, as highlighted in some of their past work.

4. Strengthening Multi-Stakeholder Engagements:

   • Building strong relationships and facilitating collaboration with government agencies, ministries, like-minded NGOs, community-based organizations, and the PELUM regional association to foster shared objectives and influence policy.

Impact and Achievements: Tangible Results on the Ground

PELUM Zimbabwe's work has had a significant and far-reaching impact:

• Enhanced Food and Nutrition Security: By promoting diverse traditional crops and farmer-managed seed systems, they contribute directly to improved food security and nutrition for smallholder farmers, reducing reliance on monoculture and external food sources.
• Increased Climate Resilience: Agroecological practices promoted by PELUM Zimbabwe, such as diversification, conservation of agrobiodiversity, and improved soil health, make farming systems more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
• Empowerment of Smallholder Farmers: They empower farmers to regain control over their agricultural practices, resources, and livelihoods, fostering self-sufficiency and reducing dependency.
• Preservation of Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity: Their focus on indigenous seeds and practices helps preserve valuable traditional knowledge and safeguard agricultural biodiversity that is at risk of being lost. For example, they've been instrumental in rediscovering and re-popularizing "lost" traditional varieties like Barnyard Millet ("Svoboda").
• Policy Advocacy: PELUM Zimbabwe actively engages in national dialogues on Zimbabwe's food system and works to influence policy towards greater recognition and support for farmer-managed seed systems and agroecology.
• Networking and Collaboration: Their robust network of member organizations ensures widespread reach and impact, while their collaboration with the regional PELUM Association and other national bodies amplifies their collective voice.

Challenges and the Way Forward

PELUM Zimbabwe operates within a national context that, while sometimes supportive of traditional grains, can also be influenced by policies favoring industrial agriculture and commercial seed systems. Challenges include:

• Securing consistent funding for long-term programs.
• Navigating policy landscapes that may not always align with agroecological principles.
• Reaching a wider audience of farmers and policymakers to accelerate the transition to sustainable practices.

Despite these challenges, PELUM Zimbabwe remains a vital force, demonstrating that by nurturing the land through ecological practices and empowering local communities, it is possible to build a more just, resilient, and sustainable food system in Zimbabwe. Their work stands as a testament to the power of grassroots movements in driving positive change for both people and Earth.