The changing weather patterns mainly caused by climate change has been leading to recurring crop failures. In Zimbabwe, Ward 2 of Gwanda district is the hardest hit as it lies under natural region five and is well known for hunger and poverty. This has necessitated the need for building community resiliency through training on climate smart agriculture. RWA Zim has been training and encouraging communities to grow early maturing and drought resistant crops. RWA Zim through Women and Land in Zimbabwe (WLZ) embarked on a programme of giving women farmers seed packs of small grains. 

Mrs Sikhanyisiwe Nkala, a 51-year-old woman farmer from Zhukwe East in Gwanda district is one of the farmers who benefited from the programme. She received the seed pack of small grains which had sorghum (Sila Variety) , a short season and drought tolerant seed.  Mrs Nkala planted the seed in her 2-acre field and the sorghum grew very well. This has seen her harvesting a bountiful harvest that has guaranteed   her food security   together with her four children. In the previous 2021/2022 farming season she had attempted to grow her first sorghum crop which was a long season variety, and the yield was lower than what she had harvested in the current season.

Most farmers in the area were hesitant to put large hectares of sorghum crop because of birds, despite noticing the potential of small grains in the drought prone areas.  In this regard, RWA sensitised the farmers on the Sila variety that it was less prone to bird attack than other varieties and  urged the farmers to be innovative in managing the crop and use a collective approach in managing and harvesting of the crop.The  growing  of short season maturing sorghum variety coupled with the trainings on climate smart agriculture practices enhanced the harvest from the sorghum crop in the area  and most women  farmers benefited. This enabled Sikhanyisiwe Nkala to harvest 1.1 tonnes of sorghum from 2 acres of the sorghum Sila which is enough for her to feed her household until the next season, and she also remained with a surplus of 0.5 tonnes which she intends to sell. RWA Zim continues to encourage farmers to grow short, seasoned varieties as they adapt to changing weather patterns.