This proposed project is designed to improve Zimbabwe’s structural weaknesses in the agricultural sector. When agriculture performs well, the rest of the economy flourishes and vice-versa. Due to population growth, urban expansion, and Zimbabwe’s government land reform policies, the agriculture sector has deteriorated over the years. Agri Growth Centers could change the dynamics of this issue. Agri Growth Centers are a boon for needy farmers. This project will help in increasing awareness among farmers, improvement in agricultural productivity, Enhanced income of farmer’s family, and establishment of market linkage.
Overview
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. With local variations in climate, certain parts of this country are known for their heat and aridity while other parts receive frost in winters and heavy rainfall thereby inducing a diversity in the agricultural productivity of Zimbabwe. The population here is largely rural with the agriculture sector providing employment and income to 60-70% of the population.
It is generally accepted that when agriculture performs well, the rest of the economy flourishes and vice-versa but surprisingly with the above mentioned demographics the sector contributes only 15-19 percent to annual GDP (depending on the rainfall pattern). Due to population growth, urban expansion and Zimbabwe’s government land reform policies, the agriculture sector has deteriorated over the years. The degradation in the soil and production quality and quantity has made the country a net importer of food. Between 2000-2016, Zimbabwe’s
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- annual wheat production fell from 2,30,000 tons to 60,000 tons
- annual maize production reduced from 2 million tons to 5,00,000 tons
- the cattle slaughtered for beef fell from 6,05,000 to 2,44,000
- xxxx, a region in Mashonaland Central Province that once fell in the “breadbasket region” of Zimbabwe has been negatively impacted in the past 30 years due to the land reforms, causing it to be less prosperous than it was in the late 20th century.
On the other hand, the country has a well-developed education system with one in 11 adults holding a tertiary degree, moreover Zimbabwe was ranked 120th in the Global Innovation Index in 2020. This merit of Zimbabwe could come in handy to change the country’s future of agriculture and make it an exporter of agricultural products once again.
Changes in agricultural productivity depend on how rapidly agricultural output changes in comparison with changes in input levels and if anything, mobilizing labour will be a pivotal step in doing so.
Project Rationale
Through the proposed project, we would like to improve Zimbabwe’s structural weaknesses in the agricultural sector. Although its infrastructure harnesses research and development, the institutions lack financial and human resources to conduct research and taking action on the government’s land reform programmes could be a lengthy and tedious process hence, Agri Growth Centers could change the dynamics of this issue. Agri Growth Centers are a boon for the needy farmers. Agri Growth Centers as the word ‘Agri’ suggests, will focus on delivering their expert services and advice to the farmers regarding:
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- soil and crop protection
- usage of technology in agriculture
- cropping practices
- awareness of market demand
- Clinical services for animal health to assist in the productivity of farms and other economic activities.
They also provide training to graduates in horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and dairy,
veterinary, poultry, pisciculture & other allied activities thereby tapping the expertise available in the large pool of agriculture graduates of Zimbabwe so that they could either assist there or set up their own agri-clinics or agri-business centers later.
Farmers would learn how to
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- Improve infiltration capacity and fertility of the soil
- Reduce soil erosion
- Build up organic soil content etc.
- Use the right combination of nutrients to enhance productivity
- Improve market access
This would enhance not just agricultural production but income of the farmers.
Project Area
XXXX is a province in southeastern Zimbabwe. It has a population of 1.485 million as of the 2012 census, ranking fifth out of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces. The province is divided into seven districts, including XXXX District, which contains the provincial capital XXXX City. XXXX Province is bordered by Matabeleland South Province to the southwest, Midlands Province to the northwest, XXXX Province to the northeast, and Mozambique to the southeast. It has an area of 56,566 square kilometres (21,840 sq mi), equal to 14.48% of the total area of Zimbabwe. It is the third-largest in area of Zimbabwe’s provinces. The project will be implemented in two districts, namely- Zaca and Chivi.
Project Description
Project Goal: To enhance the agriculture productivity and income of small farm holders in Zimbabwe.
Project Objectives
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- To establish 10 Agri Growth Centers in two districts of XXXX Province, Zimbabwe to provide necessary support to small farm holders.
- To mobilize 2000 small farmers through capacity building thereby expanding their knowledge on various aspects of agriculture.
Project Activities
Objective 1.
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- Setting up Agri Growth centers: As part of the project we shall be establishing 10 Agri Growth centers in the project site to provide advisory services to farmers to enhance their agriculture productivity. The following activities will be undertaken to set up the Agri Growth Centers.
- Selection of sites- We shall be selecting sites based on accessibility, land availability and ease of farmers to visit the site.
- Procurement of land- We shall be procuring the land to set up the growth center.
- Construction of Agri Growth centers- Each center will have the following rooms and design:
- Training room- To accommodate 100 farmers/trainees
- Demonstration Field
- Soil testing laboratory
- Pest and disease Lab
- Small equipment and agriculture tool room
- Processing Room
- Equipping the Growth Centers: The following tasks will be undertaken for the successful functioning of the Growth Center:
- Procurement of quality seeds
- Procurement of small farm equipment and tools
- Procurement of fertilizers, pesticide and insecticide
- Setting of the soil testing lab
- Printing and publishing field manuals for trainees
- Hiring staff to run these growth centers: Each growth center will be staffed with 6 full time experts, this will include:
- Center Incharge (1) – The center incharge will be responsible for running the center. S/He shall be hiring the other staff and shall ensure that the various training programs are timely completed. S/He shall also be taking care of the outreach and awareness drive to mobilize the farmers to visit the center.
- Soil expert (1) – The soil expert will be heading and working in the soil testing laboratory. S/he shall be testing soil samples to understand the soil composition, nutrient distribution, soil ph etc.
- Trainer (2) – The trainers will be training the small farmers on improvised agricultural best practices to enhance productivity of their farms.
- Agri experts (2) – The two agri experts will be conducting field trials and undertaking field surveys to understand the issues that the farmers face.
- Activities in the Growth Center: The following set of activities will be undertaken at the training center.
- Training of farmers
- Soil Testing
- Research on improving yield
- Demonstration
- Providing advisory services to the farmers
- Providing agri- inputs at subsidized rates to farmers
- Developing market linkages
- Facilitating linkages with financial institutions
- Carrying out extension activities
- Setting up Agri Growth centers: As part of the project we shall be establishing 10 Agri Growth centers in the project site to provide advisory services to farmers to enhance their agriculture productivity. The following activities will be undertaken to set up the Agri Growth Centers.
Objective 2.
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- Baseline Survey: We will be conducting a baseline survey to gather the following information:
- Soil and climatic features of the selected area
- Availability of the resources, land, labour & capital
- Present level of utilization of resources
- Annual income of farmers
- Average landholding size
- Managerial skill of farmer
- Markets accessibility
- Financial institution
- Data collected during the baseline study will help in identification of major issues/constraints and opportunities associated with agriculture in the area and the major concerns of farmers. This data will be collected through individual interviews, household surveys, stakeholder meetings, cognitive mapping, resource mapping, collecting historical climate data, present day climate variability data etc.
- Awareness Generation: Awareness generation will be carried out in the project site and during this session, we shall inform the farmers about our growth centers and how our centers can help them in improving farm productivity. Audio- Visual material will be developed and distributed to the farmers to make them understand the importance of adopting Good Agricultural Practices.
- Identification of direct beneficiaries: We will be selecting 2000 small farmers (1000 farmers from each district). Selection will be done based on the data collected during the baseline survey.
- Build Capacities of the selected farmers: A 15 day training program will be conducted for the identified farmers. Training will be conducted in the growth center. Each growth center will cater to 200 farmers and each batch will comprise 25 farmers. Area specific technologies that are aligned to agro-ecological, cultural and socio-economic conditions of the area will be promoted. Trainings and capacity building will be carried out in the following four areas:
- Enhancing Crop Production
- Diversification of farming
- Water and Soil Conservation Primary Processing
- Using tools and equipment
- Post harvesting technology
- Identification of crop diseases, pests
- Package of Practices
- Marketing
- Processing
- Exit Strategy: Formation of a Trained Member Association to manage and run the Growth Centers. We shall be selecting 200 youth members from each district to run the growth centers after the project terminates. These youth members will be elected by the local communities and will be trained on various aspects of managing the growth centers. For every growth center there will be 20 trained youth members to manage the work and the operations of the growth center. From among these 20 members, 10 members will be elected for 1 year to run the center, while the other 10 will closely monitor the process and will be involved for carrying out extension services in the neighboring villages.
- Baseline Survey: We will be conducting a baseline survey to gather the following information:
Project Result
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- Increased awareness among the residents of two districts in XXXX Province on improved agriculture practices.
- Improvement in agricultural productivity by 30% in the selected districts.
- Enhanced income of 2000 farmer’s families by 40% through selling of agriculture products.
- Establishment of market linkages with the nearby markets, hotels, shops and other government departments.
- Fully functional 10 growth centers successfully established.
Monitoring & Evaluation
We will be developing a strong monitoring and evaluation system for the project. The project team will regularly update the progress made against stated objectives of the project and will make adjustments to tackle any delay in the deliverable.
Also, we plan to have a multi-level review and evaluation system that will help in keeping track of the project and also advising amendments to cope with any challenge. During the construction of the growth centers, we shall be conducting financial audits, to ensure that there is no corruption or malpractice. All the bills will be filed properly and all financial transactions will be carried out only after the approval of our financial officer and project director.
For reviewing the project activities, we shall develop a multi-level review system, which will comprise of the Project Director, Growth Center In charge, Project Manager and Field Coordinators. Our senior project team will conduct field visits every quarter to meet the project team and assess project progress.
Sustainability
The trained member association will ensure long term sustainability to the project. As the growth centers will be run and managed by the local communities and their elected representatives, they will take ownership of the center. Our teams will regularly monitor and provide necessary support to the members, so that they can continue with the extension services and managing the center.
Also, there will be a nominal fee for the training and services provided at the training center, which will be used for maintaining the growth center.
Project Implementing Agency (PIA)
AAA foundation is a non-profit, and non- governmental charitable organization, working in Zimbabwe. AAA was established in the year 1996 with a view to alleviate poverty from the backward regions of Zimbabwe. The mission of AAA is to improve the livelihoods of the tribal people through the adoption of scientific methods and technological advances. Over the last three decades, we are striving to empower the illiterate and poverty stricken people of this region, and mainstream them into the society. The organisation has implemented several projects on livelihood improvement in the area, and therefore is well equipped to implement the project successfully.
Organization Details
AAA Foundation
ABC Street,
Zimbabwe
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