Lydia Mabvondwe's Success story

Lydia Mabvondwe and her husband decided to partake in a farming project as a way of changing their family’s way of life.

The old couple is among a growing number of Chinyika residents who took farming as a family business concept in egg production to maximise profits for the betterment of their living conditions.

“We heard a lot of people talking about projects they are doing which are funded by NGOs and we decided to take this one with Help from Germany, said Mabvondwe. “ we  also needed money to advance our agri-business project, and layer chickens have the potential of giving us the funds for our other business endeavors.”

In 2012 Help from Germany gave the Mabvondwe family a chance to partake in the egg production project. Its main thrust was reducing poverty in peri-urban Harare and improving nutrition. This can only be attained if the business takes a farming as a family approach.

Mabvondwe near his fowl run ( picture by michelle mulingo)

Mabvondwe also added that for the business to be successful there is a need for consensus amongst family members and division of labor.

“We have managed to buy a new flock of birds, paid fees for our child, and a lot of household goods from our profits, said Mabvondwe. “We are happy to be part of this project, and egg sales have benefited us financially.”

However, Mabvondwe felt that if Help had to recruit more people in future, they should increase the start up number of chickens to 50birds per individual as this will yield greater profits.

Mabvondwe added that new farmers should be risk takers, starting with a large flock so that their profits are big and they should make sure they have all the medication to minimize on birds mortality and they should be in a position to involve every family member for the sustenance of the business.