By Staff Reporter
THE Japanese government through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Wednesday pledged a US$ 5.1 million grant to support 37,000 climate-affected smallholder farmers across five districts in Zimbabwe.
This at a time Zimbabwe continues to grapple with climate challenges and food shortages caused by the El Nino induced drought.
The Japanese support is specifically for Mwenzi, Chiredzi, Rushinga, Chipinge and Mt Darwin, some of the areas hardest hit by the climate crisis.
Japanese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Shinichi Yamanaka said the three-year program will enhance food security and resilience for smallholder farmers by establishing water-based infrastructure, developing value chains, and strengthening agricultural extension service capacity.
“Under this project, small-scale farmers will be supported in growing sesame seeds to practice market-oriented agriculture and a Japanese trading company called ITOCHU Corporation is expected to play an important role in completing the value-chain of the project.
“The Japanese government will provide financial assistance of approximately US$ 72,000 to ‘the project for the construction of storages for sesame farmers in Mwenezi District’ implemented by Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT).
“SAT is expected to support sesame production and its procurement including value addition for the local and export market,” Yamanaka said.
Country representative and director for WFP in Zimbabwe, Barbara Clemens also added that the grant will enable improvement, availability, accessibility, and reliability of food for families in Zimbabwe.
“This invaluable contribution from the Government of Japan allows us to make food more available, easier to access, and more reliable for Zimbabwean families.
“By supporting farmers to grow food in a sustainable way and connect them to markets, we can address immediate food needs and empower communities to build a food-secure future,” Clemens said.
Since 2019, Japan has contributed over US$ 28 million to WFP-supported food assistance and resilience-building for vulnerable communities in the country.
