Who We Are
About Us
The Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association Trust (ZIWFAT) intends to fully utilize the land allocated to them in all Provinces, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Manicaland, Matebeleland, Midlands andMasvingo. The project will empowerover 5,500 women, and it has formed a youth farmers’ wing called ZIWFAT YOUTH that is composed of young men and women of 18 to 35 years of age. They have a membership of 300 and the main body is assisting these youths to secure resources and loans.
By taking advantage of abundant and reasonably priced agro-products in our country,the Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association Trust will produce high quality and competitively priced consumer food products to satisfy local demand as well as expand into the exports market.
This project proposal describes in detail the proposed plan to get assistance in cash and kind, how the resources availed will be used and how the Trust will significantly increase its revenue in the next twelve months.
OUR Vision
The vision of ZIWFAT is to uplift all women farmers from grassroots level to boost and contribute to National Food Security through successful agricultural initiatives
ZIWFAT is committed to eradicating poverty amongst the rural women, girl child and youths by attacking its root causes, not only the consequences. The Zimbabwe poverty data atlas indicates that 62.6% of Zimbabwean households are living on income below the Poverty Datum Line of ZW$2,172 and are thus deemed poor, with the the majority of these being rural or located in farming communities. ZIWFAT therefore encourages women to use their hands and be proactively involved in bettering their livelihoods, using initiatives such as the installation of irrigation systems and boreholes, providing reliable water sources on a continuous basis enabling the farming of cash crops. This will help alleviate poverty in even the post families. Besides the production of cash crops, the availability of water will also less to better issue management. Livestock production Will not only bring in much needed finances but also enable families to have protein in their diets, ensuring improved living conditions.
Educate
Grow Together
Invest
relationships
ZIWFAT is a member of :
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE- WABAZ (WOMEN ALLIANCE OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATION IN ZIMBABWE), PROWEB and AWEP leadership program. It its also affiliated with the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmer's Union and ZIMTRADE.
Our Objectives
1
Sack Potato Production
Venturing into Sack Potato Production, a new technic way of growing potatoes in sacks. This method maximize yield production, damages of potatoes on harvesting is next to nil and it can be done on a small space. Other members are also into convectional potato production and this is done all year round.
2
Horticultural Products
To increase the production of maize,Horticulture (paprika, garlic,potatoes, carrots, beetroot and cabbages) by cultivating at least 3 hectares for each woman farmer.
3
Vegetable Production
To produce vegetables cash crops when it is off the maize season for sale and for welfare of our families and the community for the poverty alleviation.
4
Increase Monthly Sales
To produce vegetables cash crops when it is off the maize season for sale and for welfare of our families and the community for the poverty alleviation.
Join Our Farmer's Union To Enjoy Free Benefits Like Free Training & Educational Support
How We Started
Depinah Nkomo is the founding president of ZIWFAT, a trust for women farmers in Zimbabwe formed in February 2012, with a view to addressing the plight of women farmers after witnessing the hardships they faced sleeping in queues for agricultural inputs at Grain Marketing Board depots. During the 2011 cropping season women were exposed to unspeakable hazards whilst sleeping at the depots and others ran the risk of being abused, robbed or even killed as they would travel to the GMB depots in the early hours the morning, with Mrs Nkomo herself being a victim.
After That....
After taking into consideration that women would receive more attention if they approached companies as a group instead of in an individual capacity, Mrs Nkomo set about establishing the trust. By the end of December 2013, 5500 women farmers had joined the association, and a year later in December 2014, ZIWFAT membership across Zimbabwe's ten (10) provinces had grown to 7100 women farmers. Structurally, each province has executive leadership committees running from provincial to ward level.
We Strive & Working
ZIWFAT identifies, empowers and trains emerging woman farmers and social entrepreneurs around the country, enabling them to create a better world for the country in general and their families in particular. ZIWFAT believes in the transformative value of women's participation in farming. ZIWFAT currently runs projects in poultry, horticulture, piggeries, bee keeping, cattle ranching, internal savings and lending, market gardening and value addition for our farm produce. ZIWFAT is a member of the ZIMBABWE NATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE- WABAZ (WOMEN ALLIANCE OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATION IN ZIMBABWE), PROWEB and AWEP leadership program. It its also affiliated with the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmer's Union and ZIMTRADE.
About Our Founder
Depinah Nkomo is an award winner in the 2013 Women Enterprise Conference and Awards (2nd Runner-Up agriculture category), 2014 ZNCC Business Woman of the Year (2nd Runner-Up), 2014 WECA awards (1st Runner-Up agriculture category) and is also Chairperson of the Women in Agriculture APEX Board under the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development. She is highly articulate, confident, self-motivated, a persuasive team builder, able to juggle multiple priorities and able to meet right deadlines without compromising quality.
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