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Tariro Stacey Gatsi
GOVERNMENT’S push to address nutritional deficiencies, boost food security and improve the health and well-being of citizens is gaining traction with 80 percent of the 7 091 village nutrition gardens established since the inception of the programme in 2018 confirmed to be now functional.
Speaking on the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (HRGP) progress recently, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development deputy director for crop production, Mrs Kundai Makuku revealed that 5 649 gardens were now functional countrywide.
“The number of village nutrition gardens currently stands at 7 091 covering an area of 6 277, 80 hectares. A total of 5 649 gardens representing 80 percent of the gardens are functional covering 5 022 hectares. A total of 3 772 (66, 8 percent) functional gardens has a perennial water source while 1 877 (33, 2 percent) have a seasonal water source,” she said.
The nutrition gardens are part of a broader strategy to promote food security, serving as local hubs for cultivating a diverse range of fruits and vegetables. Also, by empowering communities to produce their own food, the programme aims to enhance dietary diversity and reduce dependency on external food sources.
To complement the nutrition garden concept, the Government has initiated the Rural Development 8, 0 with the Presidential Rural Development Programme (Horticulture) as one of the eight tenets.
The programme aims to drill one borehole in each of the 35 000 rural villages in the country and establish a commercial one-hectare garden in each of the village. It was launched in Mangwe district in December 2021 by the President.
This is part of the Government’s strategy to transform rural communities to be more economically productive as the country inches towards Vision 2030.
In December 2021, a new chapter was opened when President Mnangagwa visited the area to launch the Sekusile Makorokoro Presidential Horticulture Programme, whereby Government drills and equips one borehole in each of the 35 000 villages countrywide.
Sekusile Makorokoro Presidential Horticulture Scheme chairperson Mr Buzwani Maphosa said the garden had changed the lives of nearly 150 villagers in the area.
A beneficiary from the village, said they had harvested four times and their fifth crop was currently under production. He added that the garden had changed their lives and were now able to supply the local market with produce and even sell to neighbouring villages.
“In the past, people used to travel as far as Bulawayo just to get vegetables but we are now the major supplier here and even our nutrition has greatly improved,” he added.
During a recent tour of the Kusile Makorokoro Presidential Horticulture Scheme, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Monitoring and Implementation of Government Programmes, Dr Joram Gumbo said: “As per His Excellency, the President’s mantra that no place and no community should be left behind, I am impressed with what I have seen here. There is a thriving garden that is producing all types of vegetables, there is also fisheries and there is also a piped water scheme where women and the community are benefiting from quite an impressive project.”
The programme is expected to uplift over 1, 8 million households from poverty into prosperity through increased household incomes as well as the creation of employment and empowerment opportunities.
Online Reporter