Transforming Agriculture and Waste Management in Zimbabwe: Path to Sustainability

The spark for Josephine’s idea came from Mbare Musika, the largest agricultural market in Harare. The market generates a substantial amount of organic waste, which, if not properly managed, poses health and environmental risks. Josephine’s solution is to convert this organic waste into compost, which can then be used as organic fertilizer.

Josephine, who is a university lecturer, developed her idea in the UNITAR programme “Developing Green Livelihoods for Women and Youth in Africa: Strengthening Food Security, Supporting Climate-Resilient Economies” aimed to build the entrepreneurial and digital skills of women and youth in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, so they can develop climate-resilient businesses and create inclusive, environmentally responsible and viable employment and livelihood opportunities that contribute to climate mitigation.

The training led her through the steps to refine her idea and develop a detailed business plan.

When we embarked on this UNITAR training, we were asked to develop a business proposal. I looked at different problems we are facing, and the accumulation of waste in trading areas was a major one. Additionally, in rural areas, much of the arable land is degraded to the extent that it is no longer usable for agriculture.” —Dr. Josephine Jere

She was selected as one of the 24 top participants to join the study tour and workshop in Japan. In Japan, Josephine was particularly struck by the journey and success stories of the Satake Group, one of Japan’s biggest companies in the agriculture industry. Also, Josephine found that the programme equipped her with valuable skills in developing a business plan and the importance of sharing ideas. Following the steps she learned in the UNITAR training, Josephine and her students have begun working on prototypes for her project to use science to convert organic waste into high-quality fertilizer.