When men leave Zimbabwe's rural areas for work in cities and abroad, women farmers establish agricultural leadership committees to make decisions without seeking approval from the absent men.
"This collective action is a response to customary norms positioning men as land holders and decision-makers, forcing women to ask male relatives for permission to farm," says Michaelin Sibanda, whose recent study on women in Zimbabwean agriculture earned her a doctorate in sustainability studies.
The government has introduced measures to improve gender equity in farming, but with limited effect. State programmes continue to prioritise export crops through standardised seed and fertiliser packages for maize and tobacco, cash crops commonly grown by men. The initiatives often ignore women farmers growing vegetables, legumes and grains. So do state agents providing agricultural support and knowledge, who tend to seek male decision-makers.
"Agricultural extension programs may include women, but their knowledge, leadership and practices remain marginalised, especially where customary norms and male-dominated bureaucracies overlap," Sibanda says.
Her findings show that women counteract the state’s neglect through community seed banks and fairs, where they share knowledge on traditional seed varieties and selection. These practices simultaneously contribute to local biodiversity and improved resilience to a changing climate.
"Women farmers’ everyday seed practices may appear as small, routine acts, but are actually deeply political forms of resistance that reshape power relations. The fact that their careful records of yields and input use help legitimise their practices with sceptical extension officers underscores this.”
However, she warns that emerging initiatives can carry internal tensions. Some seed groups, she found, elevate a small number of senior custodians, reinforcing age-based hierarchies.
"Similarly, while collective activities expand women's influence, they also increase their care burdens. I still argue that agroecology rooted in collective organisation is a powerful strategy for achieving sustainable food systems and gender justice."
The findings offer valuable lessons for policymakers seeking to build more inclusive agricultural systems. They also demonstrate how women's grassroots movements in Zimbabwe are laying the foundations for more equitable and sustainable small-scale farming.
