Kamukwape's Diary

Deep in the bush was our camp. A makeshift house made out of a military tent, furnished with camp beds with water flowing beneath following a heavy downpour, gave us a shelter that kept our eyes from glancing at the beautiful night stars of a forestry bush. He was an old-almost retiring high ranking Paramilitary. Like wine getting better with age, he had grown some admirable tactics and had a lot of wisdom wrapped in his service stories. His  machine gun and knife on the side, his eyes popped up, his feet well stamped to the ground, ready to take defense should the bandits, commonly the Nyamulenge on the loose, attempt to attack. We had just smashed our meal that evening and chipped into a series of conversations. "There was confusion during the construction of the Kariba Dam." He recalled. About 57,000 people were set to be relocated. He went on explaining how dangerous it was for people to settle around that area as any accident that would lead to the breaking o...

“I have the best offer for you,” she said. To entice me, she went further promising what she called a better deal for a young man of my looks. “Just a 100 US Dollars and I will unwrap for you some sweet wine,” she said, while tossing a cigarette butt off the edge of the table. It’s a beautiful country, full of happy people. They have finger-biting food and I move from one restaurant to the other hunting for some of the best traditional dishes and local delicatessen. Being an adventurous lad, the first thing I choose to embrace is the local culture. The language, food, how to conduct myself and get along with the local people, religion, popular places, entertainment activities, local transport, and other key must-know things. I have an eye on what, to the open eye, seems to be small things; I am a good listener and like paying attention to unsaid words hidden in body expressions. So, with knowledge of very few words I can get an idea about what could be in the conversation. Th...

 Young people are inspired to engage in agriculture when they listen to success stories about fellow young farmers. For many, making a decision to engage in agriculture comes as a result of change of perception and building a positive attitude towards the practice. A television programme on ZNBC TV1 on 18th May, 2017, presented a success story for young farmers, which was obviously meant to inspire young people to take up farming. However, my observation is that the development of the story might have not achieved it’s intended purpose due to various reasons. I have discussed my opinions in brief. Selecting appropriate role models Young farmer Success Stories have more impact when they are developed with the focus on how an ordinary youth get inspired, learn about how to get started and understand the process, and grow from basic production to commercial levels. This entails crafting the success story in form of a brand that is gradually built. It should be a process of...

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the provision of agricultural extension services improves farmers’ access to information and knowledge. This helps them make informed decisions that improve their production and access to the market, among other benefits. To ensure effective and sustainable integration of gender into agricultural extension services as well as improve food and nutrition security, ICTs can play an important role if and when they are carefully integrated into the system. Woman farmer receiving mobile money on her phone. Photo by Sayma Islam, Research Assistant, WorldFish/flickr To integrate ICTs into agricultural extension services systems, a careful analysis of information, communication and knowledge needs of women farmers is essential. Understanding constraining issues that would make this integration a challenge such as women farmers’ access to devices as well as how to respond to handle the barriers is important to the success o...

Developing Women Farmer Inclusive Agricultural Extension Services Systems. Agricultural Extension Services (AES) systems play an important role in ensuring participation of women farmers and ensuring they benefit from the nutritional value of their produce. Women farmers’ awareness of nutritional implications of food systems, and their participation in agricultural extension services contribute to food and nutrition security at household level. Food and nutrition security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to food. It exists when they are able to consume it in both sufficient quantity and quality to meet their dietary needs and food preferences, and they are supported by an environment of adequate sanitation, health services, and care, allowing for a healthy and active life (FAO 1996).  Kenyan Women with Nutritious Crops. Photo: USAID Characteristics of Agricultural Extension Services systems that ignore women farmers Agricu...

During 2015 and 2016 Southern Africa experienced the driest rainfall season in the last 35 years. FAO (2016) noted that during this period, 634 000 drought-related livestock deaths have occurred in the region, estimated at US$ 220 million. While grain farmers stand to recover in the next season or two, experts believe it will take significantly longer for livestock farmers to recuperate from the drought. In addition to emergency relief measures, efforts to build the resilience of livestock farmers and to learn from one another are increasingly important. Diversifying farmers livelihoods through livestock and adoption of good practices to manage livestock stock during drought and uncertain weather scenarios are key options to help farmers cope with the effects of climate change. Some good practices are being practised in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa. The Farmer to Farmer Livestock Field Study Visit is organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and...

I have since 2013 worked as Project Leader for the Community Outreach Project at Youth Skills for Development. In this period, I have hosted and supervised/collaborated with a total of 20 Students from Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands; designed projects in Liaison with the COP Project Office at Radboud University Nijmegen, in collaboration with Student Volunteers from the university and beneficiary schools/community, Supervised Student Volunteers during project implementation, evaluated and reported on these projects.  The projects have benefited about 1875 pupils and 70 teachers from Chibote Girls Secondary School, Mindolo Secondary School, Chimwemwe Secondary School, Natwange Primary School and Kawama Secondary School; 8 school leavers, 10 young women, 17 Teen Mothers. A total of 1,980 local direct beneficiaries. Pupils attending ICT lesson at Chibote Girls Secondary School in Kitwe, Zambia, during the 2014 COP Project This has been made possible by my colleagues a...