Rural women in Nyanga, northeastern Zimbabwe are increasing their incomes through domesticating, cultivating and selling fruit and medicinal trees.

The Zimbabwean reports on a project introduced by the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) in 2009 which established an Agroforestry Centre to provide training in vegetative propagation techniques for farmers.

Once trained, the farmers were assisted to establish their own nurseries. In Mapako village, indigenous trees are being domesticated and improvements made to valuable exotic species.

Through the skills they have acquired in propagation techniques, such as marcotting, grafting and the rooting of cuttings, women such as Connie Makanza have been able to feed their families, send their children to school and make improvements to their homes.

"This year I earned more from selling plants than I did from our potato farming," says Makanza.

“This programme has enabled me to select the trees l like and reproduce them. In one year, I have managed to grow and sell apples and I have nursed 600 plum trees and 200 avocado trees,” said Gloria Kavhukatema, another beneficiary of the project.

The project is improving the health of families through providing higher incomes as well as more and varied food, and medicinal products. The additional trees in the landscape are also helping to stabilize hillsides and enrich soil nutrients.

Read the full story: Nyanga women learn valuable skills