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Since the advent of the Second Republic, President Mnangagwa’s Government has implemented a number of interventions to transform the country’s agriculture sector.
The Herald has been serialising the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy -2023-2025 every Thursday for the benefit of our readers.
Continued from last week
The adoption of the food systems approach to sustain adequate food and nutrition requirements for the nation.
The received additional impetus and global acceptance with the launch of UN Food Systems Summit in 2021 systems approach will target the entire range of actors and their interlinked value adding activities from production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption, to disposal of waste products. Zimbabwe has adopted five tracks /pathways:
Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all;
Shifting to sustainable consumption patterns;
Boosting nature positive production at sufficient scale
Advancing equitable livelihoods and value distribution and
Building resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress
These aspects have now been included in the AFSRTS and the Food and Nutrition Strategy.
Many of the food system issues require a multi-stakeholder approach, involving Government ministries, departments and agencies for alignment with the NDS1.
The food systems-climate nexus has been illuminated and mainstreamed into the-climate proofed Presidential Input Schemes with, an emphasis in agro-ecological tailoring, promoting traditional grains in drier regions while discouraging maize in agro-ecological region 4 and 5
Water, sanitation and hygiene
The provision of safe, affordable, available, potable water for rural agricultural communities as a constitutional right and as a basis for a productive workforce, is being integrated into the AFSRTS. Water is an economic enabler around which VBU, YBU and ISBUs can be established.
The expanded project concept for dams adopted in 2021 to include dams, fisheries, drinking water, irrigation and electricity generation will spur the provision of water to rural and urban communities.
The use of waste water for agriculture must be enhanced.
The ongoing review of the Water and ZINWA Acts should ensure adequate water provision for both urban and rural communities in the medium to long-term while promoting private investment in dam construction and development. Investment in improved water, sanitation and hygiene provision will spur rural and urban development.
Increased awareness and financing for the water-health-sanitation nexus and water-energy-food nexus will accelerate sustainable economic development.
Climate change will require more investments in the WASH sector to achieve Zimbabwe’s national and international commitments under NDS1 and UN SDGs.
Rural development
The agricultural development-rural industrialisation-rural development-vision 2030 nexus is anchored on the observation that “development originating from the agricultural sector is twice as powerful at lifting people out of poverty than development emanating from other sectors”, and that “no country has transitioned from a low-income economy to a middle or upper middle-income economy without increasing agricultural productivity”.
Consequently, agricultural development will cause rural industrialisation.
Rural Industrialisation will cause Rural development, rural development will accelerate and facilitate the attainment of Vision 2030. The rural development paradigm dubbed “Rural Development 8.0”, comprises a series of outcome-based and impact oriented Presidential interventions to uplift communities for the attainment of Vision 2030.
These nationwide interventions are also called Presidential Schemes because they leave no one and no place behind. These eight schemes were variously launched and have begun to transform communities.
Presidential Climate-Proofed Input Scheme
The sustainable intensive conservation agriculture scheme (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) is meant to climate-proof production and increase productivity of crops to ensure household food self-sufficiency and increased household income.
The Government is providing support to 3 million rural and 500 000 urban beneficiaries, with region-specific input packages (seed, fertiliser, knapsack sprayers, chemicals).
The scheme was expanded in 2023 to include urban beneficiaries. This is a productive social investment scheme. Some 64 percent (9,6 million) of the population benefits from the scheme.
Presidential climate-proofed cotton scheme
The Scheme targets 520 000 beneficiaries in cotton-growing areas who are availed inputs (seed, fertiliser, chemicals). Cumulatively, 1,5 million people are impacted by the scheme, since 2015.
Presidential blitz tick grease scheme
The scheme complements the intensive cattle dipping programme to eliminate debilitating tick-borne diseases.
One kilogramme tick grease is availed to each of the one million cattle-owning households annually, since 2020.
Presidential Rural Development Programme
Water will be availed in all villages and schools as a constitutional right and also as an economic enabler for the attainment of Vision 2030.
The scheme targets to drill one borehole in each of the 35 000 rural villages in the country and establishing a commercial one-hectare garden in each of the 35 000 villages; providing 10 fruit trees per household for the 3 000 000 beneficiaries, and providing 50 sweet potato vines for each of the 3 million beneficiaries.
Additionally, the scheme targets to drill a borehole at each of the 9600 schools and two boreholes in each of the 2 400 wards for business units, villages, schools and youth business units will be established throughout the country.
At the end of the programme, some 50 000ha will be irrigated through solar powered systems.
Some 49 400 companies will be established, as Village Businesses, Youth Businesses and School Businesses impacting over 9.6 million people.
Nationwide fruit tree production centres are being established. Agro ecological tailoring of fruit trees has been completed. Among chosen trees are mango, citrus, macadamia, avocado and pecan nuts.
To be continued
Online Reporter