EU gives smallholder farmers $29m

 
With the current government failing to finance Agriculture which contributes immensely to government coffers, one wonders what the Minister of Agriculture is doing to come up with meaningful strategies to improve agriculture farming. An article apperead in one of daily newspapers mentioning E:U providing USD29million for small scale farmers. Read it below.

HARARE - The European Union (EU) is providing $29 million to small-scale Zimbabwean farmers to boost food security, an EU diplomat said yesterday.

Aldo Dell’ Ariccia, the head of EU delegation to Zimbabwe, said the funding would be channelled towards four projects that include crop and livestock, investment in small irrigation, support to extension and research, and the establishment of public-private community partnerships.

“These projects will empower thousands of people in rural communities to tackle the problem of food insecurity and link them to the markets with the ultimate purpose to transform small-scale farming into a viable business,” he said during the launch of the initiative in Harare.

The projects are set to run for four years and will be implemented in cooperation with the UN agency Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Netherlands Development Organisation and Welthungerhilfe.

David Phiri, the FAO representative in Zimbabwe, said the EU programme also aims to sustainably increase productivity and competitiveness of targeted irrigation schemes in communal and resettlement areas in the country.

“Indirectly, a total of 36 000 households are expected to benefit from the ripple effects of the programme,” he said.

Dell’ Ariccia said agriculture will remain one of the three focal sectors of the EU’s development cooperation with Zimbabwe under the 11th European Development fFnd period running from 2014-2020.

“The sector remains of prime importance for the livelihoods of the large majority of ordinary Zimbabweans,” he said.

“In addition, agriculture is the major supplier of raw materials to industry for further processing, value addition and trade.”