The Sunday Mail
Tendai Chara
FEED the Future Zimbabwe-Crop Development, a trailblazing programme which increased the incomes and food security for about 59 000 smallholder farmers in the country, has officially ended in Chimanimani district, Manicaland Province.
Farmers, agricultural extension officers, Government officials and stakeholders in the agricultural sector descended on Manzou Village in Chief Muusha area, in Ward 17 of Chimanimani district, to officially bid farewell to this game-changing crop development programme.
Funded to the tune of US$8 million by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the five-year programme was implemented by Linkages for Economic Advancement of the Disadvantaged (LEAD), along with their co-implementing partners Cluster Agricultural Development Services (CADS) and Africare.
Those present reflected on the programme’s achievements, challenges, and opportunities through stakeholder discussions.
Among the participants were Government officials, private sector partners, and local authorities including councillors and chiefs.
According to information provided by LEAD, the programme has, since 2015, assisted more than 58 600 smallholder farmers across six districts in three provinces by increasing productivity, incomes, food security, nutrition and good hygiene practices.
Also, the programme provided critical assistance to smallholder farmers through training and technical assistance in good agricultural practices.
Women and youth access to resources and opportunities was boosted.
According to LEAD, out of the 2 159 farmer group leadership positions, women constituted about 62 percent.
Training and technical assistance used agronomic demonstrations as learning platforms for beneficiary farmers, equipping them with hands-on skills.
Some of the technologies used included improved crops, climate-smart agriculture, and the correct application of herbicides, seed dressings, pesticides, and new fertilisers.
Speaking at the event, Feed the Future Zimbabwe-Crop Development programme acting deputy chief of party, Mrs Prisca Nyagweta, said “farmers recorded US$46 million in crop sales over the five-year period and the net income per household increased from US$232 in 2015 to US$1 855 in 2020 for irrigation farmers and from US$195 to US$426 for dryland farmers.”
According to Mrs Nyagweta, 55 percent of the beneficiaries were women.
Thirty-four private sector companies and lending institutions invested nearly US$1,4 million into irrigation and dry land farmers who grew maize, groundnuts, green mealies, tomatoes, and sugar beans.
The programme actively promoted a culture of savings through input procurement groups, internal savings and lending efforts.
The number of women of reproductive age who had their diets improved as a direct result of the trainings rose from 34 to 51 percent.
The number of children between the ages of six to 23 months who have improved diets increased from 25 percent to 58 percent.
Stakeholders spoke glowingly about the programme, hailing it as a game-changer.
“Before this programme started, my family struggled to get food.
“I was trained in good agricultural practices and now my family is food secure,” said Ms Plaxedes Simesha, of Mhakwe Village in Chimanimani.
Ms Simesha said the programme linked her to financial institutions that provided input loans.
“We were taught how to prepare dried vegetables, how to produce fruit juices and we were also linked to more demanding and sustainable markets. My life has changed for the better.”
Chief Muusha (Born Chenjerai Maosa) reckons the programme brought unity and development to his area.
“Before the advent of this programme, I used to handle many gender-based related disputes at my traditional courts and the majority of these were directly related to economic poverty. Now that the majority of my people are food secure, the number of cases that we are handling has drastically fallen,” Chief Muusha said.
USAID Zimbabwe’s Agricultural and Food security officer, Mr Adam Silagyi commended the LEAD’s work.
“I am proud to be associated with such a successful programme, which has totally transformed the lives of previously marginalised and food-insecure households,” Mr Silagyi, who participated in the close-out event virtually, said.
“At first we were all nervous since we were not sure how the programme would pan out. This was the first time that USAID had given such a huge task to a local organisation and so we were naturally nervous,” Mr Eliot Takaindisa, the LEAD chief executive officer, said.
“I am happy to say that despite the initial fears, we managed to successfully implement such a huge and complex programme. I would want to thank all the farmers who made us proud by working hard, adopting all the technologies promoted and their keenness to learn and share good agricultural practices.
“While taking stock of our achievements, we are aware that there are still major challenges to be overcome in agricultural development in Zimbabwe.”
