$16 million agriculture fund set up
A US$16 million revolving loan facility (RLF) for smallholder farmers aimed at financing
value chain upgrading investments leading to improved crop, livestock production and
creation of downstream employment has been set up.
The Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Programme (SACP) is under the ministry of Lands,
Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
It targets lead value chain enterprises (LVCEs) in Matabeleland North and Midlands,
Mashonaland East, West and Central.
Under the scheme, groups of up to 30 smallholder farmers will receive grants of up to
US$25 000 and the application process is underway and expected to end on 27 March.
SACP National Project Co-ordinator, Dr Godfrey Nehanda told Business Chronicle
yesterday that requests for expression of interest to participate in Co-Investments in
Agricultural Value Chains of interest in partnership with SACP are open.
“We are looking at rolling out grants under the Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project
to individuals and collectively owned enterprises.
“SACP, which is jointly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe, the International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Opec Fund for International Development
(OFID), is structuring a Revolving Loan Facility (RLF) aimed at financing value chain
upgrading investments targeted at enhancing the capacity of private sector players to
build long-term linkages with smallholder producers in line with the Government of
Zimbabwe strategy for transforming the smallholder agricultural sector.
“To that end, US$16 million has been set aside for the revolving fund. The initiative also
seek to train smallholder farmers on financial literacy, ” said Dr Nehanda.
Interested LVCEs should currently be facing challenges in accessing finance from the
formal financial markets for upgrading current operations, he noted.
Modalities for administering the fund such as interest’s rates, consultancy firm and the
financial institution to oversee it are being worked out.
National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1)
SACP will use the revolving loan fund as the main instrument for channelling financing
support to VCLEs to address current gaps in the provision of working capital and
investment credit to agribusinesses working in specific value chains.
He said the initiative is open to VCLEs participating in value chains where smallholder
farmers and private enterprises are assuming the roles of producers and off takers of
agricultural produce, respectively.
“The facility targets enterprises with growth potential, which can lead to increased
participation of market actors, especially the resource-constrained smallholder
producers.
“The increased participation of smallholder producers should result in increased crop
and livestock production, increased sales volumes, and increased profit margins, hence
creation of downstream employment,” he added.
Agriculture
Dr Nehanda said prospective applicants must be formally registered private sector
agribusinesses with a minimum of two years’ operations and must have up to date
financial records.
Participants are also expected to submit business proposals through provincial
structures.
The Second Republic has made food and nutrition security a top priority and is working
towards attaining a US$8,2 billion agriculture industry by 2023, underpinned by the
country’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) – the key driver towards the Vision
2030 objective of making Zimbabwe a prosperous and empowered upper-middle income society.chronicles.co.zw
