Page 110 - AFAP Success Stories 2020
P. 110

Toronga-Mangunde:                                       The village of  Toronga, in the Mangunde
                                                                     administrative area, is located in the interior
             Gold Inputs                                             of Chibabava district. Like other regions in
                                                                     the province, for years the farmers used seeds
                                                                     with reduced germination vigor, which placed
                                                                     agricultural practice, especially the production of
                                                                     cereals and vegetables below what was needed
                                                                     by the market. When the use of improved seeds
                                                                     became popular, these inputs became scarce as
                                                                     gold, explained Arone Tucutiana, a representative
                                                                     of Mangunde’s leader.

                                                                     “Farming families had to move to distant cities.
                                                                     In other words, seeds were as rare as gold.  AFAP
                                                                     and its partners did something extraordinary for
                                                                     farming families,” said Tucutiana.

                                                                     Toronga’s supply shop is run by Isaias Mateus
                                                                     Joaquim. He said that before he made a
                                                                     commitment to AFAP, he had been selling small
                                                                     quantities of seeds that were not enough for
                                                                     everyone.

                                                                     “I have been running this business since 1997,
             Arone Tucutiana, representing Traditional authority of Mangunde Village  not selling large quantities. I was afraid of buying
                                                                     a large quantity of seeds and finding seeds with
                                                                     little germination power, because there was no
                                                                     guarantee or refunds. Today, with the support from
                                                                     FAR, the situation has improved for many families”.


                                                                     The  shop  managed  by  Joaquim  is  owned  by
                                                                     Toronga’s Agribusiness Association. He guarantees
                                                                     that most of the more than 6000 farming families
                                                                     will  buy  from  his  shop,  because  in  addition  to
                                                                     selling agricultural inputs, he promises to transfer
                                                                     the  technologies that  he learned with  AFAP’s
                                                                     support.


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