The Chief Director responsible for Business Development, Markets and Trade in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Zim , Mr Clemence Taderera Bwenje says the Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project is a mechanism of transformation in the country and is expected to contribute to the delivery of the Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS) and the National Development Strategy, which are key to achieving the country’s blue print, Vision 2030. Speaking at the project’s bi-annual review in Kadoma today, Mr Bwenje said, the project’s beneficiaries had begun to see positive outcomes from the four years of implementation. The Village Business Units, one of the projects key interventions, had become a unit of production which had also been transformed into profit making units.
The results of the recently completed Mid-Term Review showed increase in incomes, increase in crop production, adoption of improved practices as well as increases in household dietary diversity. Mr Bwene emphasised the need to ensure that the project’s interventions are impactful. He said, ” Our ultimate measure of success is not how many farmers we train, but many we connect to viable markets, off-take arrangements and financial services”
Mr Bwenje also paid tribute the project’s co-financiers, which include the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) for their model, which enables implementation through the Government. The Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Projects aims to improve nutrition and incomes among smallholder farmers. Among its deliverables are the establishment of 100 village business units, rehabilitation of 1780 hectares and the mobilisation and support to 800 Agriculture Groups, 200 Medium and Small Enterprises and 40 Value Chain Lead Enterprises
