Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare in CHIREDZI
HAMA Village Business Unit (VBU) in Chiredzi has generated US$1 135 in sales since April, with the performance emerging as one of the key indicators of rural communities’ preparedness to withstand drought and climate shocks.
The figure was revealed on Monday during an assessment tour of Hama VBU by Government officials and development partners to assess the preparedness of communities ahead of anticipated El Niño conditions.
Established under the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Integrated Rural Resilience Building (IRRB) programme, Hama VBU supports 45 farmers from households within a five-kilometre radius of the site in Ward 2.
The farmers, comprising 15 men and 30 women, cultivate 2.5 hectares under solar-powered irrigation, enabling them to continue producing despite Chiredzi’s recurring dry conditions.
Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development chief agronomist Ms Rutendo Nhongonhema said the VBU demonstrated how Government partnerships could improve food and nutrition security while turning farming into a business.
“The Hama Village Business Unit is one of the greatest examples of what Government partnership is doing in terms of rural development and bringing food and nutrition security to the people,” she said.
Farmers are producing green mealies, okra, cabbages and rape, among other crops, while applying the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) approach, which encourages them to identify markets before planting.
“What we have also witnessed is that the farmers have embraced the SHEP approach, where we are encouraging our farmers to look for the market first and then come and grow,” Ms Nhongonhema said.
“If you have got a market for your crops, when you come, you really work hard, and you increase productivity so that you can meet the expectations in terms of quality and quantity.”
The approach has enabled farmers to diversify production while generating income from the same land used to improve household food supplies.
WFP Masvingo Field Office programme policy officer Mr Munyaradzi Gahadzikwa said the organisation had deliberately combined irrigation support with market linkages to make rural production more commercially viable.
“We are supporting these communities to enhance their agricultural production through improved access to water, and we have also supported them to have improved access to markets — both input markets, where they access viable and certified agricultural inputs, and also output markets, where they have improved access to the higher-value markets,” he said.
Mr Gahadzikwa said improved market access was helping farmers realise greater value from their production.
The VBU has three solar-powered boreholes, four 10 000-litre tanks and one 40 000-litre tank, supporting irrigation and livestock watering.
The infrastructure is also designed to strengthen resilience in a district where unreliable rainfall regularly threatens agricultural production.
Mr Gahadzikwa said the IRRB programme was moving into its third year after beginning in 2023, with Government expected to take over leadership of the next phase.
“Year 3 will be led by Government,” he said, adding that the assessment was intended to give authorities a clear understanding of the achievements, challenges and gaps requiring attention.
The programme has trained farmers in climate-smart agriculture, business management, record-keeping, value chains and Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA), which provides climate information to support production decisions.
The assessment comes as farmers in Chiredzi are being encouraged to conserve water, diversify crops and strengthen irrigation systems as they prepare for the anticipated El Niño-related climate pressures.
