📰 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has rolled out inception meetings across the country in preparation for the roll-out of the Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP).
The project, which will be implemented in four provinces, is a transformative initiative aimed at empowering rural smallholder farmers and integrating them into the mainstream horticulture value chain.
Speaking after a Matabeleland South inception meeting in Gwanda District, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development business development director, Mr Abraham Mashumba said the inception meetings seek to raise awareness among relevant stakeholders on the horticulture programme.
It will be implemented in Matabeleland South, Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland.
Mr Mashumba said HEEP seeks to bring a shift in how farmers have been practicing horticulture production. He said smallholder farmers will be aggregated into a hub arrangement in order to gain economies of scale in both production, distribution logistics, and marketing.
“We have launched the Matabeleland South chapter and from here we will launch the Midlands Chapter, Masvingo and Manicaland. Our inception meetings are bringing together relevant stakeholders in the horticulture space to share the details of this initiative.
“Rural development comes in an incremental fashion, we do one thing at a time and eventually we will get there. With this kind of programming we can achieve rural industrialisation for the attainment of Vision 2030,” he said.
Government recently launched the eight-year US$66,5 million Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP) to directly benefit 71 000 smallholder farmer households and indirectly 50 000 by 2031.
The HEEP initiative will establish 620 village business units (VBUs) while enhancing the 4Ps model (Public, Private and Producers Partnerships) as well as enabling smallholder farmers to engage in commercial markets.
Capacities will be bolstered through targeted capacity-building efforts, matching grants, and public infrastructure investments that catalyse value chain actors’ contributions.
The investments are projected to yield various socio-economic benefits, such as enhanced income through the commercial sale of horticultural produce from Village Horticulture Gardens (VHGs), improved nutrition, gains in efficiency through public infrastructure investments, enhanced rural connectivity, job creation across both farm and non-farm activities, and bolstering local economies, among others.
HEEP is jointly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
The first phase of HEEP will be implemented in 20 districts from Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Masvingo, and Midlands provinces.
HEEP is aligned with Government’s guiding frameworks, including the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (HRGP), the Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS), and the National Development Strategy (NDS1).
Source: The Herald
