Trees for ED programme moved to January next year

Tariro Stacey Gatsi

GOVERNMENT has announced the rescheduling of the highly anticipated launch of the fruit tree household programme to January next year instead of this December citing delays in collation of statistics from the targeted provinces and the forestry commission.

The fruit trees programme (Trees4Life) was established to help achieve the Rural Development 8, 0 under the Presidential Horticulture Scheme that targets to see each of the targeted 1, 8 million households getting 10 trees.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development deputy director for crop production Mrs Kundai Makuku said the Trees for ED programme was being launched in Masvingo and would mainly target three districts, which are Mwenezi, Chivi and Gutu.

“The programme was supposed to be launched this December in the selected districts,” she added.

With the programme now set to commence in January next year, the Government has since reaffirmed its commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture and the well-being of its citizens. The initiative will serve as a model for similar programme to follow throughout the country to help foster sustainable agriculture practices and empower communities nationwide.

“The pilot project is targeting 20 percent of Gutu’s population of 53 995 households and around 1, 8 million countrywide,” said Mrs Makuku.

Under the programme, selected households will receive a diverse selection of fruit tree saplings, carefully chosen to thrive in their local climate and soil conditions.

“Each district will receive 10 trees per household but different species, for instance, in Gutu there will be avocados and mangoes whereas Mwenezi will receive street orange and pecan with Chivi getting avocados and street orange. The trees are ready to be planted,” added Mrs Makuku.

In the horticultural recovery plan circulated in February by ARDAS, many nurseries were reported to have been established to set the programme going. Out of the 383, 586 planted trees, Ministry staff planted 10, 508 while farmers planted 373,078 planted. The planted tree species included guava, mango, peaches, mulberry, avocado and pawpaw. These were accommodated in 619 nurseries.

Meanwhile, the current statistics indicate that 443 143 trees have since been planted with Ministry staff planting 14, 999 and farmers 428, 135. The planted tree species include guava, mango, peaches, mulberry, avocado, lemon, banana, orange, musawu, mun’ii, and pawpaw. The numbers of established nurseries across the provinces now stand at 854.

In December 2021, President Mnangagwa launched the Horticulture, Growth and Recovery programme in Makorokoro, Mangwe district in Matabeleland South province. The Fruit Tree Household Programme holds immense potential to empower communities, reduce food insecurity and contribute to environmental sustainability. The goal for distributing 1, 8 million fruit trees countrywide is in line with the country’s ambition to transition into an upper middle income economy by 2030.