By Cliff Chiduku
Nomore Tifa (38) a single mother of two will never regret the day she decided to join the Zunde village business unit (VBU) in Mt Darwin.
“We used to rely on rainfed agriculture, but this is now a thing of the past as we now have a reliable source of water thanks to the government,” she said.
She said since villagers are now engaged in horticulture production and have started receiving dividends, they were now on a transformational path through these localised business units. She can now send her children to school and fend for her extended family.
Zunde is one of many thriving VBUs in Mashonaland Central province. The VBU, which has 66 members, has a horticulture section where an array of horticultural crops is grown which include but not limited to tomatoes and cabbages. In addition, there is also a fisheries project loaded with near mature fish almost ready for the market.
Speaking during a tour recently, Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) horticulture expert Simon Pande said Zunde villagers should be applauded for establishing a thriving crop, adding that AMA will not let them down on market linkages.
“We are impressed with what we have witnessed here. We have several reputable off-takers that we work with and that are always willing to take up all the produce from the VBUs. As of 31 December 2023, AMA had created a total 84 local markets for both crop and livestock,” he said.
Chaminuka Training Centre and several supermarkets in Bindura and Mt Darwin are some of the off-takers who bought produce from Zunde VBU.
Other VBUs doing well in Mashonaland Central are Chigango with 120 beneficiaries, Madhogo (134) Rovambira (60), Chaka (95), Kenwith (80), Kazuva (82), among others.
Mashonaland West has 383 beneficiaries from Pote, Nyikadzino, Mutau, Idlewood and Chigumbura VBUs, while Manicaland has 460 beneficiaries, Masvingo (213), Midlands (505), Harare (162), Matabeleland (200) and Mashonaland East (62).
So far, more than US$25 200 has been realized from the 144 village business units set up across the country.
When it comes to village business units, the adage “give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” holds true. Central to this concept is the importance of providing villagers with enablers and knowledge they need to sustain themselves in the long term, rather than just offering temporary solutions. By giving villagers fishing rods instead of just handing them fish, the Second Republic is empowering them to become self-sufficient and independent.
The village business units have proved to be game-changers for rural communities whose livelihoods are being transformed in terms of food and nutrition security, employment creation and enhanced income.
Rural development
In 2021, His Excellency, President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the Rural Development 8. The first VBU was launched by President Mnangagwa at Jinjika village in Mangwe and many have since been established across the country. The initiative is aimed at addressing the socio-economic challenges faced by rural communities across Zimbabwe.
The programme focuses on various aspects of rural development, including infrastructure improvement, agricultural support and employment creation and is designed to uplift the living standards of the rural population and promote sustainable development in these areas.
The programme is meant to improve the livelihoods of rural communities through the establishment of VBUs, which are registered as formal companies with the villagers being both employees earning wages and shareholders earning dividends from the ventures.
It is envisaged that more than 35 000 business units will be established under the Presidential Rural Development Programme as this will spur rural industrialisation and ultimately rural development and address food security, income generation and employment gaps.
The program also seeks to set up 9 778 school business units that is at every school and youth business units across the country. At the commemoration of the National Youth Day on Wednesday, President Mnangagwa launched the Mushagashe youth business unit in Masvingo.
The other components of the Rural Development 8.0 are Pfumvudza/Intwasa, Presidential Free input scheme, Presidential Heifer Pass-on Scheme, Agriculture Mechanisation Scheme, Presidential Goat Scheme, Presidential Fisheries Scheme, Presidential Poultry scheme, Presidential Tick Grease scheme, among others.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is implementing the programme. In the implementation of the programme, a whole government approach was adopted where AMA provides market linkages, Zinwa is mandated with development of water infrastructure, AFC Bank provides funding, ARDAS extension services and ARDA manages the business units.
Agricultural development is meant to lead to rural industrialisation, rural industrialisation must cause rural development and rural development must catalyse and facilitate the attainment of the Vision 2030 under the auspices of leaving no one or place behind philosophy.
Word from the market is a column produced by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) to promote market-driven production. Feedback cchiduku@ama.co.zw or WhatsApp/Call +263781706212.
