COVID-19 Restricts Access to Markets for Smallholder Farmers

Some of farmers' produce displayed on the markets. Image by Conor Brown | Unsplash

by Amanda Ncube

COVID-19 has brought with it restrictions that have affected several businesses, smallholder farmers have not been spared. A high good farming season this year will not translate to higher returns.

GWANDA, August 18, 2020. (The Citizen Bulletin) — FARMERS operating small irrigations and gardens are failing to transport their produce to various places for sale while operations of some vendors they usually supply to have remained closed due to COVID-19.

Small irrigations have become a source of livelihood for many villagers in Matabeleland South Province.

Ms Rebecca Dube, the treasurer at Tswaranani Garden in Nhwali area in Ward 24 in Gwanda says they have lost some of their produce due to the challenge in accessing markets.

“This season we did well in terms of our produce. We have tomatoes, vegetables and onions which are now ready. We managed to harvest a lot of tomatoes and some are still to be harvested. Despite doing well in our garden we are facing challenges in getting transport to ferry our produce to the market.

The farmers have in the past relied on public transporters to ferry their produce to Gwanda and Bulawayo for sale. Lockdown restrictions banning public transporters from operating added to the limited operations of vendors have been a blow to business.

“The tomatoes which we harvested under the first batch went bad as we couldn’t sell them. We have now decided to dry our vegetables so that we can sell them at a later stage,” Dube says.

Dube says the livelihoods of the farmers have been affected as they are no longer getting income. She says with the effort they had put into their garden project after a failed rainfall season they had anticipated huge profits.

“The income we make after selling our produce is the money we use to fend for our families and send our children through school.”

Rebecca Dube, Tswaranani Garden treasurer

Some members of the garden have resorted to travelling in scotch carts to various wards selling their produce with some farmers spending some nights away from their homes trying to increase volumes of sold produce.

John Sibanda, the chairperson of Phaswana Garden in Ward 17 says they recently harvested cabbage, tomatoes, chomolia and rape vegetables as well as onions. Sibanda says villagers are buying their produce, they remain with a lot of tomatoes which require bigger markets.

“Some of our customers in Collen Bawn and West Nicholson want the tomatoes but we don’t have means of delivering them. People in our community do support our business but we need a bigger market,” he says.

The chairperson of Siphosethu Garden in Sengenzana Village in Ward 14, Esther Maseko says they usually sell their produce to teachers at local schools and in Gwanda, locals buy a few products.

Matabeleland South acting Provincial Agricultural Officer, Mr Mkhunjulelwa Ndlovu says this year the province recorded a good produce from horticulture; however, the pandemic requires a different business strategy.

Spinach, onion, carrots, tsunga, rape, chomolia and cabbage are among the products that did well.

“Farmers must now think outside the box and try to get markets within their local communities while at the same time observing COVID-19 regulations.”

Mkhunjulelwa Ndlovu, acting agricultural officer

He says there is also a need for farmers to re consider their pricing method as the reason some locals are not buying the produce is because it is being charged in South African Rands.

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