Zim launches US$66,5m Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project
Edgar Vhera- Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
The government has officially launched the eight-year US$ 66.5 million Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP) to directly benefit 71,000 smallholder farmer households and indirectly benefit 50,000 more by 2031. The launch, held in Harare yesterday, brought together various ministries and departments, the private sector, development partners, and farmer representatives. The HEEP initiative will establish 620 village business units (VBUs) while enhancing the 4Ps model (Public, Private, and Producers Partnerships) as well as enabling smallholder farmers to engage in commercial markets. Capacities will be bolstered through targeted capacity-building efforts, matching grants, and public infrastructure investments that catalyse value chain actors’ contributions. The investments are projected to yield various socio-economic benefits, such as enhanced income through the commercial sale of horticultural produce from Village Horticulture Gardens (VHGs), improved nutrition, gains in efficiency through public infrastructure investments, enhanced rural connectivity, job creation across both farm and non-farm activities, and bolstering local economies, among others. HEEP is jointly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe (US$5,2 million), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD – US$37,1 million), and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID – US$15 million). ReadMore