IFAD to finalise three-year action plan for Zimbabwe
THE International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is about to finalise its action plan for Zimbabwe for the next three years and will hear from the beneficiaries on how best they can be assisted. This was said by the visiting IFAD president Mr Gilbert Houngbo in an interview after paying a courtesy call on President Emmerson Mnangagwa at his Munhumutapa offices.
Mr Houngbo was accompanied by Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri and United Nations Resident Coordinator Mr Bishow Parajuli and officials from IFAD among other officials.
He said his organisation will not dictate to Zimbabwe but will get input from the beneficiary country.
“It is important to also get his (President Mnangagwa) advice and what we have been receiving from our meeting yesterday (Monday) with Government officials, civil society and other financial institutions and the UN colleagues.
“I do not want to jump the gun now because the real action we want to do will be the outcome of the dialogue because it is important for us the international development community not to impose an agenda on the country. It has to be a nationally owned agenda by Zimbabwe through Government.
“We should listen to the small holder farmers where there are challenges and lift them out of poverty,” he said.
Mr Houngbo said IFAD was investing in smallholder irrigation which was helping farmers have two to three cycles per year, increase productivity, boost their income and improve their livelihoods.
He said value addition was also an important intervention for smallholder farmers as it would double productivity and double the income which was the major focus for IFAD.
“We had a meeting with his Excellency President Mnangagwa and I used the opportunity to brief him on the outcome of our visit since we arrived on Sunday and on the operations of IFAD together with the other colleagues from the UN system to ensure our activities are well co-ordinated particularly for our case as IFAD on the rural transformation.
“We also briefed him about today’s visit to Mutoko. Not only do we want to develop the rural but how we can use agriculture as an entry point, using the comparative advantage that Zimbabwe has and to encourage the youth employment in agriculture,” he said.
Mr Houngbo expressed concern over the lack of irrigation facilities in Africa. “The lack of irrigation in Africa in general is one of the endemic problem we have. On average in Africa we have about five percent of our arable land compare to 41 percent in Asia,” he said.
He said it was important that smallholders have the capacity to increase area under irrigation from 0, 5 hectare to 1, 25 hectares to alleviate poverty and create wealth.
“There is also need for affordable technology and access to regional d international markets,” he said.
Minister Shiri said IFAD focused on transforming rural communities through various programmes and they had come to strengthen co-operation between the organisation and Zimbabwe.
“In the past we have greatly benefited from their support which has come in various forms and we believe their presence here will go a long way in benefiting our communities especially those in marginal areas,” he said.