UK and Australia contribute US$ 11.5 million to help Zimbabwe’s smallholder farmers
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) have contributed
US$ 11.5 million to help 60,000 smallholders in 20 districts in Zimbabwe
through market-based input assistance, as part of the Agricultural Inputs
Provision Programme. The funds, channelled through the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will enable smallholder farmers to
receive support through a crop and livestoc
19.09.12
12:07pm
by Staff Reporter
The support from DFID and AusAID will make it possible for beneficiaries to
access cropping or livestock inputs of their choice, as well as training and
extension support. The inputs will be delivered through district
agro-dealers and livestock fairs, which will inject cash into the rural
economy. DFID and AusAID emphasise that this is a hand-up rather than a
hand-out to smallholders.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and
Irrigation Development, Mr Ngoni Masoka, has welcomed the support, saying
“Timely provision of agricultural inputs, particularly to the smallholder
sector is an essential ingredient for improving agricultural production and
is key to unlocking the capacity of smallholder farmers to improve
productivity. This support will go a long way in complementing government’s
efforts in supporting agriculture as part of the broader economic recovery
strategy.”
DFID, AusAID and FAO are seeking to contribute to wider efforts to reduce
poverty and chronic malnutrition in Zimbabwe, by helping to improve the
production and income of small-scale farmers and to commercialise the
smallholder sector. The overall goal is to enable food insecure and
vulnerable farmers in communal and old resettlement areas to meet their
basic food and non-food household requirements.