Zimbabwe, der engang var ikke blot selvforsynende med fødevarer men også kunne eksportere, har haft det svært under Robert Mugabes styre – nu vil briterne i samarbejde med FN igen gå ind med støtte til landbruget, selv om forjagelsen af de hvide farmere har været en anstødssten.
ROME, 20 December 2013 (FAO): The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID = det britiske Danida) and FAO have agreed on a four-year initiative to support Zimbabwe’s efforts to address the root causes of poverty and food insecurity, and build resilience (modstandsdygtighed) against climate change.
The new programme will enable poor vulnerable farming households to improve food security, nutrition (ernæring) and income while strengthening their long-term resilience.
DFID is providing a 48 million US dollar (ca. 265 mio. DKR) package of funding for an FAO-managed programme to increase sustainability of agriculture, contribute to rural employment and improve nutrition – from childhood to maturity – in Zimbabwe.
The programme aim to reduce poverty in many parts of the country by increasing incomes of poor farming households through climate-smart farming practices that will raise agricultural productivity, along with initiatives that will improve farmer access to markets.
FAO will be responsible for the overall management of the programme, including coordination of activities, technical quality and reporting on results. The programme will seek to help nearly 300.000 people in selected districts.
What makes this arrangement unique is the type of collaboration with the resource partner, in which FAO manages a programme, sharing implementation with a great number of partners.
Langt de fleste er bønder
More than 70 percent of Zimbabweans depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods.
But they face a wide range of challenges, including low productivity; limited market integration; low soil fertility in some regions; the impact of climate change; limited irrigation systems; a lack of smallholder-oriented credit systems; and weak agricultural training and services.
The “Livelihoods and Food Security Programme” will focus on poverty reduction, but also on addressing specific constraints (forhindringer) that smallholder farmers (småbønder), particularly women, face in boosting agricultural productivity and gaining full access to market systems.
It will aim, among other things, at:
* boosting short-term employment opportunities through safety-net programmes that will help women and men improve nutrition and invest in their farms;
* improving irrigation infrastructure;
* linking smallholder farmers with markets;
* providing enabling environments through policy support and encouraging public and private investments; and,
* increasing agricultural production and productivity of nutritious foods.
Making farmers resilient against climate change is one of the objectives of the programme.
To strengthen food production mechanisms, it will focus on promoting appropriate climate-smart technologies and farming systems, such as greater crop diversity, improved storage, processing and preservation, crop rotations, conservation agriculture and irrigation.
Resilient livestock production approaches will be promoted, covering improved feeding strategies, fodder crop production, animal husbandry and breeding practices.
