About 6 000 small holder farmers in Chiredzi and Mangwe are set to benefits from 6 000 tonnes of traditional grains inputs donated by India-UN Development Partnership to be administered by the World Food Programme.
A total of 3484 farmers in Mangwe and 2602 farmers in Chiredzi will receive the inputs which comprise of sorghum and African peas seed and top dressing fertilizers.
Further more, 60 Extension officers from both districts will be capacitated to ensure that they assist farmers to adopt new climate smart technologies.
“Nutrition remains an important factor the Ministry is addressing. We are grateful for the support WFP and other development partners are offering to our farmers,” Agritex director Stancilae Tapererwa said at the handover of the inputs in Harare yesterday.
“We appreciate the good gesture by India and WFP Zimbabwe and we are well-advised that the funds from India will come through the United Nations World Food Programme Zimbabwe for building the resilience of small-holder farmers in Mangwe and Chiredzi by increasing small grain production and productivity and improving market access.”
The initiative by the Indian government and WFP Zimbabwe dovetails with government efforts to scale up the production of small grains across the country, mainly in drier areas with minimal rainfall.
The country has been experiencing a series of droughts in recent years and this has adversely affected capacity to produce the staple crop- maize prompting calls for crop diversification with bias towards smaller grains that are drought resistant.
“In Zimbabwe, small-holder farmers have been severely affected by food insecurity over the past years. Many people in rural areas, particularly women, make up a very significant proportion of the agricultural sector. We supported these vulnerable people during critical times, barely recovering from prolonged years of drought, unpredictable weather patterns and then compounding impacts of COVID-19 and limited livelihood opportunities,” said WFP country director Fransesca Ardelmann.
