Kastina Sibanda is a subsistence farmer making a profit thanks to improved seeds she received in a training programme that aims to reach more than 14,000 households in Zimbabwe by 2026. Photo: WFP\/Christopher Charamba<\/p>\n
In the sun-scorched fields of Zimbabwe\u2019s southern Mwenezi District, where rainfall is rare, a quiet revolution is sprouting – one tiny sesame seed at a time. For years, subsistence farmers like Kastina Sibanda gambled on maize, only to harvest disappointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many seasons, our maize crop would fail, and we would barely fill a bag with grain,\u201d says Sibanda of the crop she produced on her 2-hectare plot, and which hardly met the family’s needs. \u201cWe struggled financially and had very little food to eat in our home.\u201d\u2028<\/p>\n
Last year, sesame offered a new path. Drought-tolerant and in growing demand abroad, the crop has become a lifeline for thousands of Zimbabwean farmers. \u201cOur yields are better,\u201d Sibanda says. \u201cAnd we get paid for the crop – which means we can provide for the family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she looks over her sesame field, the green plants sprouting white flowers, Sibanda knows her harvest will travel more than 12,500 kilometres beyond Mwenezi. After processing, the seeds\u2019 golden oil will add a delicate finish to meals served on dinner tables in Japan.<\/p>\n
A sesame processing plant in Zimbabwe’s Mwenezi District – part of the project’s broader effort to build capacity, infrastructure and value chains. Photo: WFP\/Tatenda Macheka<\/p>\n
The transformation underway in Sibanda\u2019s field is part of a broader resilience-building initiative across five districts in Zimbabwe, funded by the Government of Japan. A partnership between the World Food Programme and local nongovernmental group Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT), the project supports small-scale farmers in growing sesame for the market, developing the infrastructure, value chains and capacity to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main driver for our involvement was to improve the ability of smallholder farmers to manage shocks while enhancing their food and nutrition security,\u201d says WFP Programme Officer Bezel Garedondo. \u201cSesame is climate-resilient and gives farmers an alternative when maize or sorghum fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than delivering aid, the project is boosting trade, Garedondo and others say. By linking smallholder farmers to export markets, it is giving them an opportunity to build successful livelihoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeds of resilience<\/p>\n
Sesame farmer Hazvinei Tsongora learned how to use natural pesticides to ensure her crops were organic. Photo: WFP\/Victor Moyo<\/p>\n
Piloted in two districts, including Mwenezi, in late 2023, the project initially provided nearly 3,000 households with improved seeds and training. This year it scaled to 8,000 farmers in three districts, with plans to reach over 14,000 households.\u2028<\/p>\n
\u201cSesame is heat and drought-resistant, making it suitable for growing in Zimbabwe while also ensuring a stable supply for Japan,\u201d says Tetsuya Murakami, Counsellor at the Japan Embassy to Zimbabwe, as Japan kicks off the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development<\/a>. \u201cThis project supports food security, climate resilience and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, benefitting both producers and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n Zimbabwe’s drought last year shrivelled maize fields like this one. Sesame, by contrast, is drought resistant. Photo: WFP\/Victor Moyo<\/p>\n