The support from DFID and AusAID will make it possible for beneficiaries to access cropping or livestock inputs of their choice, as well as training and extension support. The inputs will be delivered through district agro-dealers and livestock fairs, which will inject cash into the rural economy. DFID and AusAID emphasise that this is a hand-up rather than a hand-out to smallholders.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, Mr Ngoni Masoka, has welcomed the support, saying “Timely provision of agricultural inputs, particularly to the smallholder sector is an essential ingredient for improving agricultural production and is key to unlocking the capacity of smallholder farmers to improve productivity. This support will go a long way in complementing government’s efforts in supporting agriculture as part of the broader economic recovery strategy.”
DFID, AusAID and FAO are seeking to contribute to wider efforts to reduce poverty and chronic malnutrition in Zimbabwe, by helping to improve the production and income of small-scale farmers and to commercialise the smallholder sector. The overall goal is to enable food insecure and vulnerable farmers in communal and old resettlement areas to meet their basic food and non-food household requirements.