Government and development partners have committed US$66.5 million to transform smallholder farming into climate-resilient, market-oriented businesses, targeting more than 70 000 rural households across four provinces over the next eight years.
The investment will support the establishment of 620 Village Business Units (VBUs) in Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands, creating organised farmer clusters capable of producing for reliable markets rather than relying largely on subsistence agriculture.
National Project Coordinator for the Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP), Pedzisai Nemadziva, said the programme was designed to strengthen rural production systems against climate shocks while improving farmers’ access to markets and value chains.
“This year alone, we are targeting about 100 VBUs and 20 partnerships. The 100 VBUs will help climate-proof production in rural communities. With the possibility of a super El Niño, we are setting up farmers for success by making their production systems more resilient,” he said.
The programme will combine access to finance, productive investment, farmer aggregation and market linkages, providing smallholder farmers with the tools needed to operate horticulture as a viable commercial enterprise.
Access Microfinance Holdings’ Finance Advisor, Tawanda Mudamburi said US$66.5 million had been mobilised with support from development partners, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“Of this amount, US$16.3 million is the horticulture revolving fund, which will support working capital requirements as well as capital investments by smallholder farmers,” he said.
The revolving fund is expected to address one of the major constraints facing small-scale producers by providing financing for both day-to-day operations and longer-term productive assets.
Government is also deploying focal persons at provincial and district levels to organise farmers into clusters and improve the flow of technical information, financial support and market opportunities.
Chief Director for Agricultural Development Advisory Services, Medelinah Magwenzi, said the coordination structure would help speed up implementation.
“Under the HEEP programme, focal persons are being inducted to coordinate smallholder farmers in each district and bring them together into Village Business Units,” she said.
The VBU approach is expected to create economies of scale by bringing farmers together, allowing them to coordinate production, access finance, aggregate their produce and negotiate stronger links with buyers.
Beyond improving household incomes, the programme could strengthen Zimbabwe’s horticulture value chains by increasing consistent supplies of quality produce to domestic and export markets.
The initiative comes as Zimbabwe faces growing climate risks, with authorities warning farmers to prepare for the possibility of a severe El Niño phenomenon that could disrupt agricultural production.
With climate change increasingly threatening conventional farming systems, the Government’s strategy is to make rural agriculture more productive and commercially sustainable while ensuring farmers are better prepared for future weather shocks.
