Charles Dhewa

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Articles

Zimbabwe: Capacity to Produce More Important Than Land Ownership

1 month ago | allafrica.com | Charles Dhewa

If owning land and related natural resources was a panacea to development, communities and people who own fertile land would be enjoying better living standards than the landless. Evidence in many African countries is beginning to show that capacity to produce commodities and control the market is more important than owning land, water and the best climate, among other natural resources. Many farmers who have land lack other resources like knowledge, markets, and other critical skills.
When and why capacity to produce is more important than land ownership

1 month ago | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

IF owning land and related natural resources was a panacea to development, communities and people who own fertile land would be enjoying better living standards than the landless. Evidence in many African countries is beginning to show that the sharecropping capacity to produce commodities and control the market is more important than owning land, water and the best climate, among other natural resources.
Circumstances under which flexible bridging finance makes all the difference

2 months ago | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

THE seasonal nature of most African food systems implies there are times when indigenous fruits, tubers, tomatoes and other commodities ripen at once. This presents challenges in harvesting and storing the commodities in ways that extend shelf life and preserve nutritional elements. When indigenous fruits are in season, they are too abundant such that very few communities can handle gluts.
How to promote indigenous food through supply chains

2 months ago | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

ALTHOUGH many Africans living in rural areas still think what comes from the city is superior, demand for indigenous food grown in rural areas is increasing in many African cities. Triggered by rising consumer awareness about the value of eating healthily and natural remedies, this trend is an opportunity for enterprising Africans to globalise African indigenous food.
How African MSMEs are decolonising manufacturing

2 months ago | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

WHILE economic planners in most African countries still associate manufacturing with big corporates rooted in colonial legacies, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have quietly moved to manufacturing cheese. This trend has been accompanied by the silent commercialisation of indigenous food. A few years ago, many urban consumers were too shy to be seen eating sweet potatoes, yams and indigenous fruits or drinking baobab fruit and traditional beverages made from small grains.
Superficial value addition may not transform indigenous food systems

2 months ago | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

ADDING value to indigenous foods has, for decades, focused on general processes like adding salt, adding sugar, sun drying, boiling and processing food into liquid. However, these processes have remained too superficial to lead to any meaningful industrial transformation that can change lives. It appears modern science and formal education have failed to substantially add more value to indigenous food beyond processes that were invented by African forefathers.
Communities can conduct their baseline studies if properly empowered

2 months ago | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

FOR a very long time, the development sector has used external consultants to gather baseline information before implementing a new project in a new community. While the main advantage of that approach is that an outsider can see what community members may not see about themselves, there are more advantages in empowering communities to conduct their baseline studies.
Communities can conduct their baseline studies if properly empowered

2 months ago | southerneye.co.zw | Charles Dhewa |Nizbert Moyo |Peter Dube |Stephen Chadenga

FOR a very long time, the development sector has used external consultants to gather baseline information before implementing a new project in a new community. While the main advantage of that approach is that an outsider can see what community members may not see about themselves, there are more advantages in empowering communities to conduct their baseline studies.
How informal economies and mass markets fight poverty and destitution

Feb 11, 2025 | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

IF there was no informal sector most Africans would have been destitute. African territorial markets and the informal sector are the real unsung heroes of the African continent. For decades, these self-organised institutions have quietly embraced the burden of helping poor people move up the economic ladder, preventing the worsening of destitution and poverty.
How to integrate indigenous knowledge systems into modern science

Feb 4, 2025 | newsday.co.zw | Charles Dhewa

African policymakers may see formalisation of the informal sector as a panacea to economic development but what makes informality more attractive has not been adequately researched. Informal knowledge exchange is the order of the day in oral cultures where the bulk of the information and rules of engagement are not documented.