By Derick Tsimba
Zimbabwe has been awarded a grant of US$26 574 567 under the Green Climate Fund which will be used to strengthen agriculture livelihoods of vulnerable smallholder farmers, especially women in the face of increasing climate change, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Yesterday in a press release, Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mangaliso Nqobizitha Ndhlovu said, “The objective of the proposed project is to strengthen resilience of agricultural livelihoods of vulnerable communities, particularly women, in southern Zimbabwe in the face of increasing climate risks and impacts.”
The Minister also said the project was going to enhance the livelihoods of most vulnerable people.
“The project will contribute the following, increased resilience and enhanced livelihoods of the most vulnerable people, communities and regions, increased resilience of health and well-being, and food and water security for vulnerable smallholder communities in southern Zimbabwe,” he said.
Minister Ndhlovu said this project was going to result in the revitalization of irrigation schemes, upgrading of water and soil moisture management and water use efficiency.
“The project outcome will strengthen the adaptive capacities of vulnerable smallholder farmers, especially women, to climate change-induced impacts on their agroecosystems and livelihoods through revitalization of irrigation schemes, upgraded water and soil moisture management and water use efficiency, climate-resilient agriculture, improved access to climate information and markets, and partnerships with public and private sector actors,” said the Minister.
Building climate resilience of vulnerable agricultural livelihoods in southern Zimbabwe project is going to run for a period of 84 months from 2020 to 2027 aided by United Nations Development Fund (UNDP). The proposed areas for the project implementation and beneficiaries are Matebeleland South, Masvingo, Manicaland targeting 15 districts in total. Matebeleland South Province: Beitbridge, Gwanda, Matobo, Insiza, Umzingwane and Mangwe. Masvingo Province: Masvingo, Bikita, Zaka, Chivi, Chiredzi and Mwenezi. Manicaland province: Buhera, Chimanimani and Chipinge. In these provinces, the project is expected to benefit a total of 2 302 120 people, 543 620 will benefit directly and 1 758 500 indirectly the Harare Post can report.
By extending US$26.6 million to Zimbabwe to build climate resilience, GCF, which was set up by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010, is acknowledging that the food shortages in Zimbabwe are being caused by climate change. This contradicts the narrative being perpetuated by the West that Zimbabwe is facing man-made hunger.
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal ELVER, declared in November 2019 at the conclusion of her fact finding mission in the country that man-made starvation was slowly making its way into Zimbabwe as most households in the country were allegedly unable to obtain enough food to meet their basic needs. Relatedly Head of European Union (EU) Delegation to Zimbabwe, Timo OLKKONEN, while addressing journalists in Harare soon after the release of a US$18.7 million fund to help alleviate hunger in Zimbabwe in January 2020, said corruption and mismanagement of the agricultural sector were the major drivers of food shortages in Zimbabwe.
The EU is politicizing drought induced food insecurity in Zimbabwe for political mileage.
The project comes as a vital intervention to build smallholder farmers’ resilience to shocks and stressors created by the climate crisis.
