Blessing Chizhande
Mthabisi Tshuma [email protected]
ENVIRONMENT, Climate and Wildlife Minister Dr Evelyn Ndlovu has called for increased investment in forests, saying it is key to building resilience across the agrifood system.
She made the remarks at the ongoing World Forestry Week 2026 conference in Rome, Italy, running from September 28 to October 2 under the theme “Forests, Food and Nutrition: Sustaining People and the Planet”.
Minister Ndlovu said investing in forests should move beyond policy commitments to concrete action.
“Forests also sustain agriculture itself. Trees on farms and across our landscapes protect soils, regulate water, support pollination and buffer the climate extremes that increasingly threaten our harvests.
“When we invest in forests, we are investing in the resilience of the entire agrifood system. Yet these contributions remain largely invisible in national accounts, and too often in national policy. Zimbabwe holds that this must change. We must move, as this dialogue rightly frames it, from policy commitment to accelerated action,” she said.
She identified policy coherence, community empowerment, investment and evidence as key areas requiring action.
Minister Ndlovu said forests, agriculture, food, nutrition and climate agendas should no longer be treated as separate sectors.
“We call for integrated planning that treats forests as part of the food system, so that food security strategies, nutrition programmes and agricultural investment deliberately harness the contribution of trees and forests,” she said.
She also called for greater involvement of communities, particularly women, youth and smallholder farmers, whom she described as key custodians and users of forest resources.
“Action must strengthen their rights, their livelihoods and their capacity to manage forests sustainably and it must add value, so that forest foods generate income and not only subsistence,” she said.
On investment, she called for predictable financing for sustainable forest management, restoration and research, alongside improved data to measure the value of forest foods.
Minister Ndlovu said Zimbabwe was already integrating trees and forests into its food security, nutrition, climate and restoration programmes.
She also commended the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Landscape Alliance for the Global Report on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition, saying it provided an important evidence base on the contribution of forests to food systems.
“For Zimbabwe and for much of Africa, forests and woodlands are a living pantry. They provide diverse, nutrient rich foods, indigenous fruits, edible insects, wild vegetables, mushrooms, honey and game, that sustain households, particularly in the lean season before crops mature and in years when harvests fail,” she said.
“These foods are not marginal. They are a frontline defence against hunger and micronutrient deficiency, and they carry deep cultural and dietary heritage.”
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Online Reporter