Online Reporter
Felistas Tavarera
Agriculture Correspondent
THE Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project has concluded its agricultural empowerment project that resulted in the improvement of the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in five districts.
The project, which saw farmers being trained on a market-oriented approach to increase income and provide better educational opportunities for their children, was implemented in Chiredzi, Mwenezi, Mt Darwin, Rushinga and Chipinge.
The project ends next month. Speaking at a final joint coordination committee meeting of the Zimbabwe Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (ZIM-SHEP) project in Harare on Wednesday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said they have been working with JICA on various aspects of agriculture.
“This particular work that we were doing with them is capacitating our farmers to ensure that they treat farming as a business,” said Prof Jiri.
“They were working with us on a grow-sell concept, which is essentially a concept which says find a market for products which has been successful.”
Prof Jiri said extension officers were capacitated to provide knowledge to farmers.
“As we exit today, the important things are not the statistics or the reports that we had over the years; what is important is the impact that this project has had on lives and the importance of the entrepreneurship that is now being inculcated in our farmers. Our farmers are now able to send their kids to school using proceeds from agriculture,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chief representative of JICA, Mr Furuta Shigeki said they have been supporting the Government through their project, ZIM-SHEP, since 2019.
“The project is on smallholder farmer empowerment through a market-oriented approach. We have also extended this approach to more than 70 countries,” he said.
“As the project concludes, it is clear that the journey does not end here. The skills and knowledge imparted to farmers will continue to resonate, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in Zimbabwe’s agricultural landscape. With a strong commitment from both the
Government and development partners, the hope is to extend these benefits to even more smallholder farmers, securing their livelihoods and promoting agricultural sustainability.”
