Zimbabwe Agricultural Income and Employment Development (Zim-AIED) Quarterly Report #1, 2012

The program is providing technical assistance to improve food security and increase household incomes of 180,000 small-scale farmers throughout Zimbabwe, covering all agro-ecological regions (Regions 1-V). Zim-AIED is generating new income streams from employment created in the wider agricultural sector and contributing to improved food security of all beneficiary households. The program is commercializing small-scale growers on communal and non-contested land by raising efficiencies in production systems for an improved combination of cash and food crops, providing access to credit, linking producers to local, national, regional, and international buyers, and training farmers to adopt good business practices. Zim-AIED is building demand for a range of Zimbabwean crops and products by training growers on productivity, quality, continuity, and cost-competitiveness. The program is also providing specialized technical support for the production of food crops to increase food availability on a sustainable basis in areas and communities most vulnerable to food insecurity. Zim-AIED is a market-driven program that works closely with small-, medium-, and large-scale buyers to raise demand and increase competition for smallholder-grown crops and products. The program is implemented in cooperation with four subcontractors and grantees: International Relief and Development (IRD); the Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA); Sustainable Agricultural Technology (SAT); and CARE International. Other local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and commercial companies support the program as development partners, co-funded through a cost-sharing grant facility. The program's primary objective is to improve food security for 180,000 Zimbabwean rural families by increasing household incomes from agriculture and increasing food production among vulnerable but commercially viable farmers. This goal will be reached through the achievement of three intermediate results: increasing the number of companies purchasing products from smallholders, increasing the availability and disbursement of working capital to rural-based agritraders serving farmers on communal land, and increasing production of maize and other food crops. Significant results for the quarterly period (October-December 2011) include the training of 12,573 beneficiary households, the disbursement of $4.45 million in loans to 676 borrowers, and the establishment of reliable market linkages with 19 buyers who plan to purchase produce worth $30 million this season from at least 31,000 program beneficiaries. The program's revolving credit facility (AgriTrade) grew steadily during the reporting period, reaching a total of 583 active borrowers by the end of December, more than double the original target of 250. The program implemented a gender mainstreaming policy whereby men, women, young people, and disadvantaged groups were specifically considered in the planning of all program interventions. As a result, 48 percent of all beneficiaries receiving program assistance are women. After 15 months of implementation, Zim-AIED is on course to meet its main objectives. A preliminary assessment of progress towards meeting the 2012 targets set for Zim-AIED's 12 Feed the Future indicators concluded that most should be met and some will be exceeded.