adminPrecious Manomano
Herald Reporter
Communities with Presidential boreholes, solar pumps, drip irrigation, greenhouses and the other extras are now earning profits from the village business units through commercial horticulture all year round.
Around three quarters of the produce on the standard 5ha plots is being sold, and the rest retained for family consumption.
This is in line with President’s Mnangagwa’s vision of building up rural communities by allowing farmers to have as many streams of income as possible, under the Presidential Rural Development Programme.
The village business units are companies, with the village community as the shareholders able to use their borehole not just for household water supplies but to fill fish ponds and irrigate a small area of land for vegetables and fruit trees, both improving the diet of the families in the village and providing surpluses that can be sold. The community is responsible for the maintenance of the pumps, solar panels and other infrastructure.
Besides the shareholding and the dividends that each village household has, some of the villagers are paid to work on the horticulture plot, giving them an extra income, which, while not large, is in addition to the dividend income and what they earn from the rest of their farming activities.
The Government has so far established nearly 300 such units around the country, to improve the livelihoods of rural communities.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is implementing the programme through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, Agricultural Marketing Authority, Agriculture and Rural Development Authority and the Agriculture Finance Corporation.
A visit by The Herald to two villages with such established units, Zunde B and Camperdown in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central, showed that communities view the units and their new boreholes, solar pumps and other infrastructure as businesses.
The communities are relying on the borehole water to produce tomatoes, onions, leafy vegetables and winter maize and the surpluses are being sold at Mbare Musika, large supermarkets and in nearby areas such as Madziwa and Bindura.
Mr Staford Kabaira of Zunde D VBU said the unit would go a long way in addressing the scourge of hunger in the area, adding that they are now food secure and are able to send their children to school.
“Our business is thriving so we can sell our produce and send our children to school. Markets are guaranteed, so far the scheme is paying well,” he said.
Mrs Sheila Gwaze said the business helped to stabilise marriages in the community, adding that divorce cases are likely to decrease since the majority of women are empowered.
“This empowerment is critical. We do not fully depend on husbands, hence cases of domestic violence are minimised. Poverty is the major issue which drives violence in marriages. We thank our President for such initiatives, which help to improve people’s livelihoods,” she said.
Camperdown VBU chairman, Mr Gift Machipisa, said they are earning a reasonable amount of money every month through the water supply and the organised unit.
“We are earning a living through various farming activities which are taking place here. We are using the borehole well. We have extension workers who also provide us with guidance in the growing of our crops. If funding is strengthened we are sure we can aim for international markets,” he said.
Agricultural Marketing Authority chief executive officer Mr Clever Isaya said it was critical for communities to use the VBUs so that they produce enough to feed their families.
“We are happy with the progress taking place at VBUs. They are selling produce, which is on demand at the market,” he said.
While the programme sees a borehole being drilled in every village and at every school, priority is now being given, on the backdrop of a ravaging drought, to units in the wards where water and pasture are most scarce, potentially 1 000 of the country’s 1620 rural wards.
VBUs are registered as formal companies with the local people being both employees earning wages and shareholders earning dividends from the ventures.
They are equipped with irrigation systems and greenhouses where villagers engage in horticultural production and sell produce to the market.
In Manicaland province 2 822 villages are expected to benefit, while in Mashonaland East 4 244 villages are set to benefit.
Mashonaland West will have 3 335 villages benefiting while 8 692 villages will benefit in Masvingo, 3 205 villages in Matabeleland North, 2 418 villages in Matabeleland South and 6 342 villages in Midlands.
Online Reporter