Farmers lose their crops to Cyclone Idai

Shocked. Dreams shattered! She takes us around her fields showing us an open ground. She tells us that she had planted an acre of tomatoes and three quarter acres of potatoes which were washed away as a result of Cyclone Idai.

For the initial harvest I got ZW$1,000. I was hoping to get ZW$3,000 from my second harvest and later ZW$6,000,” she said.

Lynette Mupunga is one of many farmers who were impacted by the effects of Cyclone Idai. Like other farmers in Gonzoni village of Chimanimani Mupunga is also counting the losses she suffered during the 2018/19 farming season.

Traditionally she would harvest crops to feed her family as well as sell to raise enough income to pay school fees for her grandchildren.

She grows a variety of crops throughout the year under the Mutambara irrigation scheme.  The crops are irrigated using canals which were rehabilitated by World Vision’s Chimanimani Area Program supported by World Vision Hong Kong. Mupunga grows maize, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, ground nuts among other crops. Her family livelihood and household income are dependent on what she grows in her garden. According to her in a normal harvest she would rake in more than ZW$15,000 (approximately US$3,000) from tomatoes and potatoe