For Stephen and Previous Matsaru family in Mazowe District, Zimbabwe, farming has always been a source of food and income, although not a reliable one. As smallholder farmers in Ward 31, the family depended largely on conventional white maize and struggled to find dependable buyers. When they sold their harvest, delayed payments from local buyers left the family facing financial pressures. Their farming practices and limited knowledge also offered few opportunities to improve the nutritional quality and yield of what they produced and consumed at home.

During the 2025/2026 farming season, the Matsaru family was to introduced vitamin A orange maize by HarvestPlus Solutions. Through training in nutrition and agronomy, the family learned about the benefits and management of orange maize and received guidance on purchasing and planting the ZS500 variety. HarvestPlus Solutions also connected the family with commercial off-takers, including Chanaz Foods, a poultry feed company. With this support, the family purchased 20 kilograms of ZS500 seed from Mukushi Seeds and planted one hectare. They harvested five tons of orange maize, giving them both food for their household and a marketable surplus. The results changed how the family viewed the crop.

The Matsarus observed that the orange maize performed well under hot conditions compared with the conventional maize had planted. As a result, the family shifted completely from white maize to orange maize. Their children now prefer orange maize for porridge, sadza, and roasted maize.

“Vitamin A maize is healthy. It contains vitamin A, which helps protect us from falling sick, strengthens our bodies, and helps us maintain healthy skin. At our homestead here we no longer want to grow white maize,” says Mrs. Previous Matsaru.

The crop has also opened a new route to market. The family sold four tons for poultry feed, receiving an initial US$700 deposit. They sold additional grain to neighbors, creating another source of local demand. “In the past, we struggled to find reliable buyers for our crops and often faced long payment delays that left our family in financial pressure. But with vitamin A orange maize, that is no longer a problem. HarvestPlus Solutions linked us directly to a poultry feed company, who paid us upfront and collected four tons straight from our homestead. Now, even our neighbors come to us with cash to buy our harvest,” says Mr. Stephen Matsaru.

Income from the harvest has already supported household priorities, including purchasing house tiles in Mvurwi and paying school fees without any financial strain. The family also uses orange maize to make feed for their own animal feeds. The experience is beginning to extend beyond the Matsaru household. Neighboring farmers have started purchasing grain and seeking information about growing orange maize, creating an avenue for community-led diffusion. Next season, the family plans to expand orange maize production from one hectare to five hectares, move completely away from white maize, and explore supplying local school feeding programs.

The Matsaru story illustrates how combining biofortified crops with agronomic knowledge and reliable market linkages can connect two priorities often treated separately: better nutrition and stronger smallholder livelihoods. For the family, orange maize is no longer simply a different crop. It is becoming part of a more resilient approach to farming, food, and household income.