Integrated Soil Water and Nutrient Management and Dry ... - Icrisat

egistered to become members of the FFS. A total of 30 households
registered, of which 12 were headed by males and 18 by females. A
committee was formed to manage the operations of the FFS. One farmermember
offered a plot for group trials. Because the group had identified
severe moisture limitation as the major constraint to increased food
production, they pegged contours and dug infiltration pits to capture water. As
a result, they managed to realize some yields from experiments despite it
being a very dry year.
The FFS meets once every week. Absent members pay a fine of
Zimbabwe $100 and those who come late pay $50. This money is used to buy
food when the group needs to work late.
The major lesson learned was that where the group had constructed
moisture conservation structures and infiltration pits, water was retained, and
where there were no such structures, it was just lost as runoff. The moisture
conservation methods being used in this FFS have encouraged other farmers to
visit the school. Interest began to grow when the FFS fellow members worked
together to dig contours and infiltration pits in their own fields and
subsequently obtained good yields of maize and groundnuts. For example in
the 2000/01season they obtained 0.5 t ha -1 of maize each while neighboring
farmers suffered a total crop failure. During the 2001/2002 cropping, FFS
members were the only ones with seed; others failed to harvest anything. The
FFS then organized field days, which led to an increase in membership to 50.
The Gwanda FFS requests ICRISAT to train them so that they can assist other
farmers to share this knowledge and thus increase the number of FFS
members in the area.
Farmers’ perspectives: Zvishavane: Mazvihwa
William Nhedzi, Vice-Secretary, Tsungirirai Mwedzi Farmer Field School,
Zvishavane
The AREX extension officer promoted the formation of the Tsungirirai
Mwedzi FFS. It was organized with a membership of 35, consisting of 20
households headed by males and 15 by females. During the first meeting they
resolved that record keeping was important to the group’s activities. They also
selected a three-person member committee to manage the activities. A
13