Failure to integrate, mordenise blamed for food insecurity among the San

Thandeka Matebesi

Since time immemorial, the San in Zimbabwe have survived on hunting and gathering. However, times have changed given the mordenisation that has ushered in modern agriculture, laws on hunting and land ownership that restrict and in some cases, criminalise some of their ways. Unfortunately, the San community is still clinging to its old ways, rendering its members food insecure in the process.

According to Tsholotsho’s Ward 7 Councillor, John Dube the San community in his ward are failing to adapt to the demands of modern life such as farming and animal rearing as they are still caught up in their archaic ways.

 “They rarely farm. When they do plant on very small pieces of land, they don’t follow up to cultivate the crops because as soon as they hear that a wild animal has been shot they leave everything and rush for the carcass. This is why they don’t harvest much to sustain them for the whole year. Right now only one person from the whole community is practicing modern farming and is the only one who managed a meaningful harvest.

“The problem is that they have relied for too long, on hunting to the extent that it’s now difficult for them to commit to agriculture. I have tried to get them an audience with government officials and other wells wishers so that they can air their grievances when it comes to food security, but when they stand up to speak all they say is ‘sifuna isobho’ meaning that they want meat,” lamented Dube.

The Councillor revealed that the indigenous group depends on hand outs and menial jobs for survival.

“The other issue affecting their food security is that they do not own any livestock hence they can only cultivate small pieces of land which they don’t tend to as they spend most of their time doing menial jobs around the ward,” he said.

In an interview with Community Podium, Davy Ndlovu Director of Tso-o-tso Development Trust, an organisation concerned with promotion of the San culture echoed the Councillor’s sentiments about the San community’s food insecurity which is largely attributed to failure to embrace, understand and appreciate modern methods of farming and a more sedentary lifestyle.

 “Food insecurity among the San is very bad, and this has been going on for years. This is because when the farming season arrives, they do not have draught power as well as other implements and inputs to practice any serious farming that has potential to produce yields.

“The community is not very familiar with modern agricultural methods such as the use of machinery. When you tell them about modern agricultural methods, most of them do not even understand the concept and do not own any livestock. They rely on borrowing. Another reason why the San is food insecure is because for a long time they embraced a nomadic way of life so they did not have much knowledge in farming,” said Ndlovu.

Ndlovu added that the government failed to integrate the San community into modern society , thereby further alienating them.

 “Even though extension officers do visit the communities, they only assist with the theory part of modern agricultural methods, so only a few people understand and show interest in what they would have been taught.

“Adding to that, is the failure by the government to integrate them so that they also adapt to a sedentary lifestyle,” he said.

Ndlovu revealed that the San often complain that modern farming methods are too laborious for them.

“When we talk to the communities and ask them why they do not practice modern agricultural methods, they say it’s too difficult for them as they are still accustomed to their ways of hunting and gathering. They say that in the past they would hunt down a big animal to be shared and they would repeat the same process once the meat was finished. There was no need to work hard for food.

“The irony is that while they say that they are not able to do heavy chores, they are willing to work in other people’s fields and are given small amounts of maize as payment which is not enough to feed their families,”  said Ndlovu.

Covid-19 further worsened the plight of the San community by restricting movement and contact.

“The advent of Covid-19 compounded the challenges bedeviling the San community which was already food insecure. Movement-restricting and social distancing guidelines have made it impossible for community members who hitherto relied  on doing menial jobs for survival to continue offering their services. They now have to stay at home and adhere to covid19 protocols. Moreover, they have to stay at home and quarantine once they have tested positive to Covid19 which makes it arduous for them to access food and water sources which are very far,” said Ndlovu.

Efforts to get a comment on the Government’s policy with regards to ensuring food security among the San Community in Zimbabwe were fruitless as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Water and Rural Resettlement could not be reached.