Japan donates US$5.1m to Zim

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

The Government of Japan has donated US$5.1m to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support resilience-building initiatives for smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe.

The funding aims to mitigate the impacts of El Niño-induced droughts and climate change.

WFP Zimbabwe Representative and Country Director Barbara Clemens highlighted the significance of the funding, emphasizing its role in strengthening livelihoods and communities.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Government of Japan for its generous contribution of ¥792m  [US$5.1m] . This funding will enable us to implement climate resilience and sustainable agriculture initiatives across five districts, directly supporting 37,000 people. Together, we are paving the way for a brighter, more secure future for Zimbabwe’s communities.

This partnership could not have come at a more critical time. Zimbabwe continues to contend with the devastating impacts of El Niño-induced droughts, erratic weather patterns, and shifting agricultural seasons.

With the support of Japan, we look to turn these challenges into opportunities,”  Clemens said.

Japanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Shinichi Yamanaka,  underscored  the significance of the  initiative  in improving  rural  livelihoods and combating  the effects of climate change.

“I am pleased to contribute towards the smallholder farmers and enhancing resilience against climate change in Zimbabwe. This will be implemented soon with WFP. I would like  to extend my gratitude to WFP and Lands Ministry for the unwavering commitment and support for the small scale farmers in Zimbabwe. They play a vital role in fostering economic growth and ensuring food security in the country. However climate change exposes them to drought.

The project will focus on providing vital water resources in communities and farmers will be provided with a market oriented approach from grow to sale under the Zimbabwe Smallholder Agriculture Empowerment Programme.The small scale farmers will be helped in growing sesame seeds  to practice market oriented  agriculture. Most of the sesame seeds will be processed into sesame products like sesame oil and sesame pesto,”  Ambassador Yamanaka said.

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary, Professor  Obert Jiri said the project will have a transformative impact on rural incomes  as farmers are set to earn a living from these life changing  programmes.

“We thank the Japanese government for extending a US$5.1m to our smallholder farmers as this helps growers that were affected by El Nino induced drought through building resilience and capacity to provide water and grow food crops to feed the families and communities.This will help to improve people’s lives in Masvingo, Manicaland and Mashonaland East.

The farmers will also be provided with storage facilities for sesame  and sesame products,” Prof Jiri said.