03 | THE RESULTS – DELIVERY BY SECTORS
OBERT JIRI Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fish- eries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Government of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is focusing on agricultural transformation and rural development to harness her potential and one way of doing so is through revamping and ramp- ing up production and productivity in the horticulture space. It is anticipated that the horticultural economy will grow to US$1.2 billion annually by 2025, and that this will open opportunities for smallhold- er farmers to participate in the horticul- tural sector supplying local, regional and international markets. To exploit the untapped potential and par- ticipate in new growth frontiers agricultur- ally, the government of Zimbabwe through the International Fund for Agriculture Development accessed a loan from the OPEC Fund to the tune of US$15 million to implement its Horticulture Enhancement Export Project, representing 22 percent of the required funding. The resource envelope presents huge opportunities and pathways to operationalize the implemen- tation of the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan, which aims to transform and develop rural communities that largely depend on farming as a means to survival. The project is expected to enable the country to achieve self-sufficiency levels and a surplus for exporting. This is going to be achieved through strengthening the horticultural production base, improved production and profitability through main- streaming smallholder farmers. This puts Zimbabwe in good stead to achieve on the agricultural level its “Vision 2030” nation- al development blueprint, whilst leaving no one and no place behind as enjoined by the UN SDGs.
33 MN hectares of agricultural land 4.3 MN
FRANCESCO RISPOLI Head, IFAD Southern Africa Office, Country Director for Zimbabwe
Revitalization of the horticulture sector in Zimbabwe is key to economic growth, food and nutrition security and poverty alleviation. This project seeks to remove barriers faced by smallholder farmers in the horticulture sector through promotion of smallholder farmers’ linkages to the export and domestic markets, improved access to inputs and services, adoption of climate-smart technologies and better storage facilities.
people in rural areas severely food insecure 95,000 children acutely malnourished
(Source: FAO, 2020)
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