John Cassim
Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri, has applauded the gains realised from the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF). Professor Obert Jiri made these remarks during the official launch of the second phase of the ZRBF, supported by a US$17.24 million pooled fund from the European Union and the Government of Ireland.
This second phase will cover seven rural districts – Binga, Kariba, Mbire, Hurungwe, Mwenezi, Chiredzi, and Beitbridge – and aims to support over 450,000 people by 2028.
Professor Jiri commended the initiative, which began in 2015, and revealed that the ZRBF “has since become the largest resilience-building program in Zimbabwe, reaching 18 rural districts and making significant strides in enhancing resilience in a multi-shock environment.”
Professor Jiri added that the second phase of the ZRBF builds upon the success of the first phase, which provided support to over 1 million people, 62% of whom were women and 25% youth, to cope with the impacts of climate change.
The first phase also bolstered the Government of Zimbabwe’s capacity for livelihoods data generation and analytics. It strengthened national systems for data monitoring, collection, and analysis, which has supported evidence-based decision-making.
Through the ZRBF, Zimbabwe established over 2,000 pieces of productive infrastructure for resilience, including water systems (23 dams, 1,042 boreholes), livestock infrastructure (cattle dips, water points, and abattoirs), agricultural output processing and post-harvest storage, and renewable energy solutions (solar-powered boreholes). Similar achievements were seen in the education, health and energy sectors.
Meanwhile, ZRBF-II is expected to build resilience in vulnerable rural communities, ensure sustainable natural resource management for climate action, improve food and nutrition security, and lessen the impact of natural disasters in at-risk communities in Zimbabwe.
This phase will be implemented in seven districts of the Mid-Zambezi area (Binga, Kariba, Hurungwe, and Mbire) and the Southeast Lowveld (Chiredzi, Mwenezi, and Beitbridge) over the next four years.
“My Ministry encourages private sector participation in Village-Based Units (VBUs) and the development of Ward Drought Mitigation Centres (WDMCs). The target is to establish 1,620 WDMCs; current progress is below target. Support is also needed for VALT implementation. VBUs are crucial for climate resilience and enhancing food security. Each village requires approximately 33 tons of food annually. Increasing VBUs will bolster food security at household, community, and national levels,” Professor Jiri said, highlighting the importance of the ZRBF.
Testimonies from Phase One
A farmer from Nyamahumba village in Nyanga commended the launch of the ZRBF, through which a Village Business Unit (VBU) was established. The farmer, who is also a councillor and headman, said the unit helped the community organize themselves.
“I was fortunate that the VBU was established in my ward, and as a member of that committee, I also benefited greatly. A solarized borehole was drilled, and UNDP, as well as the government, provided the solar panels, two large water tanks, taps, and a cattle drinking point were installed. We are now looking forward to introducing new cash crops, such as high-value crops, carrots, butternuts, covo, rape, and beans, as we already have a market in boarding schools,” the headman Dydimus Nyamahumba said.
He indicated that his team will soon add value to their produce, a move that will increase their earnings.
The provision of borehole water, which may seem commonplace to some, is a significant milestone, as climate change, increased temperatures, and drought have resulted in dried rivers and wells.
Technical Support Provided to Zimbabwe
“As FAO, we provide technical support to the Government of Zimbabwe to develop effective policies, strong institutions, and the adoption of climate-smart agroforestry and Integrated Landscape Management. More specifically, FAO is uniquely positioned to provide technical support and leadership for the successful implementation of ZRBF-II. Drawing on past and current programming in Zimbabwe and around the world, FAO will provide key insights and lessons learned in specific technical areas to make ZRBF-II a ‘state-of-the-art’ resilience project,” said Dr. Patrice Talla, the FAO Representative to Zimbabwe.
The EU Ambassador pledged to continue supporting Zimbabweans in need.
“We started ten years ago, and I must say, you can always cite monetary figures, such as 100 million euros. As Team Europe, we provided more than 50% of that, and at that time, the UK was still part of the EU, so we probably gave much more than 50%. However, money is not the only measure. When I look at the results, 1.1 million vulnerable people across 18 districts received direct support,”said the EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst van Kirchmann.
“At a time of global uncertainty, Ireland remains steadfast in our commitment to overseas development assistance. We’ll continue to focus on the SDGs. We had some role in actually putting the SDGs in place in New York, and in reaching the furthest behind first,” pledged the Ambassador from Ireland Austin Gomley.