Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera
Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
THE Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project (SACP) has urged financial institutions interested in disbursing development funds to eligible smallholder agricultural value chain actors to tender their papers before 24 June.
SACP is jointly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
It is promoting inclusive value chain development activities in five provinces of Zimbabwe, covering 18 participating districts.
The overall goal of SACP is to increase equitable smallholder participation in market-oriented and climate-smart value chains.
Under EOI SACP Loan No./Credit No./Grant No.: 2000003764, reference No. (as per 2025 Procurement Plan), financial institutions are required to access the line of credit (LOC) hosted by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to on-lend to eligible agricultural value chain actors.
“This call for EOI is open to financial institutions accredited or registered with the RBZ, fully compliant with relevant regulations and with at least three years of operations.
“They should also have an agricultural financing strategy, a successful track record in lending to the agricultural sector, especially smallholder farmers and agriculture micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), through delivery of affordable loan products adapted to the capacities and needs of SACP target groups,” read the notice.
The financial institutions should have the capacity to service agriculture producer groups (APGs) and/or rural MSMEs and/or value chain lead enterprises (VCLEs) operating in the districts and provinces covered by SACP.
The notice disclosed that a line of credit (LOC) hosted by the RBZ was available for financial institutions to on-lend to APGs, MSEs and VCLEs supported by SACP, in line with the Government’s strategy for transforming the smallholder agriculture sector.
“The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is using the LOC as one of the main instruments for channelling debt financing to the key market actors and address current gaps in the provisions of affordable working capital and investment credit to agribusinesses in the specific value chains,” the notice continued.
The SACP development objective is for rural households to sustainably increase their income in irrigation schemes and adjacent rain-fed areas supported by the programme.
Overall, the project’s objective is the realisation of enhanced income and improved nutrition through sustainable transformation of the smallholder farming sector.
The project will be implemented in 18 districts across Mashonaland East, West and Central provinces, as well as Matabeleland North and Midlands provinces.
The information submitted by financial institutions will be used by SACP to assess their eligibility to proceed to the due diligence phase.
Financial institutions with satisfactory due diligence will be invited to submit a full proposal.
SACP is part of the Zimbabwe Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Programme (HEEP) and is a follow-up to the recently concluded Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP), which was launched in 2017 to address the negative effects of climate change and malnutrition.
SIRP was a seven-year programme funded by IFAD, OFID and the Government of Zimbabwe and contributed to the resilience of smallholder farming communities in Zimbabwe’s four provinces of Manicaland, Midlands, Masvingo and Matabeleland South.
