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Shepias Dube Business Reporter
A NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisation, World Vision Zimbabwe, has set aside $1 million to assist people in the drought prone districts of Hwange and Mudzi under its Productive Assets Creation Project.
The project, which started at the beginning of this month and will run until the end of November is targeting 2 960 workers translating to 14 800 beneficiaries.
In an interview on Wednesday World Vision Integrated programmes director Mr Khumbulani Ndlovu said the programme was not only aimed at providing food to the communities but was also aimed at creating assets that could boost their food security status.
“In essence the Productive Assets Creation does not just seek to use food to avert hunger but also to create resilience by engaging communities to work on projects that can contribute to, and enhance their livelihoods. It is a matter of killing two birds with one stone,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said this was in line with the Government’s economic blue-print, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) which advocates for the development of infrastructure and distribution of food to needy communities.
Mr Ndlovu said a total of 704 tonnes of food valued at about $560 000 would be distributed in Hwange, while in Mudzi beneficiaries would receive cash for food amounting to $405 000.
The remaining $108 000 would be used to procure material for identified projects.
The programme would be implemented by World Vision in collaboration with local authorities and traditional leaders from the two districts.
The PAC projects would be identified through the collaborative effort of the community, local stakeholders and World Vision through a participatory community assembly method facilitated by local leadership.
Targeted projects include dam and dip tank construction and rehabilitation, training in livestock production, crop production, establishment of nutritional gardens and construction of fish ponds and installation of solar powered pumps in selected community gardens.
Mr Ndlovu said the project’s measure of sustainability was in terms of the longer term improvement in the nutrition, health and food security of the beneficiary, hence the selection of an assortment of interrelated activities.
“There is growing interest in the potential contribution of such programmes to increasing empowerment, building resilience to crises and shocks, for instance by increasing overall agricultural production or environmental degradation,” he said.
Hwange Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Phindile Ncube applauded the initiative taken by World Vision at a time when the district had a below average harvest.
“This is a welcome development which will go a long way in alleviating hunger in Hwange and we hope it will soon spread to all wards in the districts,” Mr Ncube said.
Hwange district has 20 wards and Mr Ncube said World Vision was operating in six wards only.
He applauded World Vision for diverting from the traditional system of parcelling out food hampers to villagers which has been strongly criticised for promoting laziness and the dependency syndrome.
Online Reporter