Village business units start paying dividends

Blessings Chidakwa and Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu

VILLAGE business units will spur rural industrialisation and modernisation and have already started paying dividends for villagers through income generation and employment creation countrywide, thereby improving the livelihoods of many people.

The units are now being run commercially, each registered as a private company, to attract working capital and meet recurrent costs, such as repairs and maintenance of boreholes at the centre of each unit.

Cabinet directed that 10 000 business units be established by November this year as part of the Presidential Borehole Drilling Programme, to economically empower the less privileged in society, mainly women and youths. The borehole, its solar-powered pump, tanks and drip irrigation equipment are at the centre of each village business unit.

Latest statistics from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development show that 157 village business units, 43 school business units, nine youth business units and 21 chiefs’ business units, have been established so far.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said all hands are on deck to support the programme.

“The first thing is that it is a business. For it to be a business, it must have elements of viability, the profitability, which then brings the aspect of sustainability,” he said. 

“Once configured as such, it means that business is able to attract capital for repairs and maintenance, just like any other business. 

“It must be able to attract working capital support. That business, once given this seed capital in terms of the boreholes, solar powered unit, drip irrigation, fencing and the tanks, it is able to expand. It is that reconfiguration as a business that will ensure there will be sustainability.”

Some of beneficiaries of the village business units in Manicaland are overjoyed, and have thanked the Second Republic for implementing sustainable projects that are uplifting livelihoods.

A villager, Mrs Fungai Chivhoko, hailed President Mnangagwa for transforming their lives.

“This project has been a life changer for us. We have been able to sell products and get profits,” she said.

Dzenga Village Business Unit secretary, Mrs Patience Mhlanga, said hopes for a better life have been rekindled.

“Our garden has four crops and after we make sales, we are guaranteed of making huge profits. We are grateful that we have access to water and drip irrigation. Our lives are being transformed for real and we are grateful to have been entrusted with such a project,” she said.

Internal auditor at Dzenga Village Business Unit, Mr Joseph Mapanzure, said they were overwhelmed by demand for their produce.

“We are 54 under this project. So far, we expect to sell our first produce in a few weeks time, but we are overwhelmed with customers. A number of business people in Murambinda have already ordered our products including tomatoes, cabbages and vegetables before we even harvest them. We are grateful to the Government for the project,” he said.

The village business units also have downstream benefits, with Prevail Group International contracted to drill boreholes under the Presidential Borehole Drilling Programme having created over 500 jobs as it hires local people.

Prevail International has experienced technocrats and is employing both skilled and semi-skilled workers in all the country’s 10 provinces. At least 50 people have been employed in each of the 10 provinces.

Another beneficiary, village head Mr Wilson Rwafa, of Chipwanyira area, whose business unit was being set up last weekend, was hopeful that it would thrive.

“Considering that Buhera is a dry region, we are happy that we now have water and are able to do more than domestic farming. We expect our business to grow as we are just starting out. The drip irrigation that we have and a close and reliable water source is giving us a chance to better lives,” he said.

Mr Isaiah Hushe, chairman of the Mavhaire-Mwanawevhu project in Shava West’s Ward 18, added: “We are grateful for this initiative because it has seen our lives change. We are hopeful that, when the business is really established, our lives will improve.”

In Binga District’s Ward 9 and Ward 13, about 120 families have benefited from one-hectare nutrition gardens fed from solar pumps, a development set to address food and nutrition security in the area and support livelihoods.

The community has been relying on rain-fed agriculture and the nutrition gardens are the first of their kind in the area.

Mampata Nutrition Garden, Mankobole Garden, Tuligwasye Garden and Kasambabezi Nutrition Garden have thriving maize and sugar bean crops under drip irrigation. Water is being drawn from the Mlibizi Dam, along the Zambezi River.

The nutrition gardens were established under the Climate Adaptation Water and Energy Programme (CAWEP), which is being funded by the United Kingdom to the tune of £13,6 million and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Government.

The programme is being implemented in four districts: Binga, Insiza, Chipinge and Chivi. It started in August 2022 and will run till November 2025.

Mampate Nutrition Garden chairperson Mr Edson Mwinde said the project has created an opportunity to grow various crops and they expect to start harvesting maize early next month.

“It’s a rare sight to see maize crops in our area because we mainly grow small grains. Our area is dry and we have to stick to drought-resistant crops but this limits our options in terms of crop variety,” he said.

“We now have maize and sugar beans in our area, which was a rare sight. We are looking forward to introducing more crops as we continue production.

“We are targeting cash crops and we also want to have variety such as butternut, onions, tomatoes, peas and vegetables among others. This will not only help us with an income, but our families will have access to nutritious food.”

Mankobole Nutrition Garden chairperson in Ward 9, Ms Monica Mpande, said they were now treating farming as a business as compared to the time when they were farming for household consumption under rain-fed agriculture.

They were hoping to realise significant returns from selling their produce, mainly to schools, shops and the business centre.

“We are working very hard to ensure that our crops do well and thanks to the assistance from Agritex, we are anticipating a good harvest. We will be able to send our children to school and to fend for our families. The income we will get will help us start other projects,” she said.

Binga District Agritex officer Mr Pedias Ndlovu said the nutrition gardens would significantly help to address the issue of food security within communities. He said the farmers were working closely with Agritex extension officers.

“This project is in line with Government’s thrust, where we say we want farmers to practise climate-smart agriculture. We see here a farming method, which conserves water and soil, which is drip irrigation,” said Mr Ndlovu.

“Climate-smart agriculture is a great strategy for adaptation to the prevailing harsh weather conditions caused by climate change. We look forward to seeing these nutrition gardens become a reliable source of income for the beneficiaries. We are working closely with the farmers so that they sustain their project and operate it as a business,” he said.

UNDP communications officer for CAWEP, Mr Paul Sixpence, said the purpose of the programme was to climate-proof communities and ensure food security. He said Binga is one of the districts that have been hard hit by climate change.

“As part of efforts to enhance climate-smart agriculture, UNDP, through its funding partner, which is the United Kingdom Government, has ensured that communities in the Mlibizi area in Binga have access to new agricultural methods that enhance adaptation to effects of climate change,” said Mr Sixpence.

“Four solar-powered gardens have also been established under the programme.”

Binga lies in agroecological region 5 and is characterised by low erratic rainfall coupled with high temperatures. It is characterised by long dry spells, low altitude and poor agricultural productivity.