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EU, USAID Program Connects Zimbabwe Farmers To Markets

EU, USAID Program Connects Zimbabwe Farmers To Markets

From Deutsche Welle

In the bushes of Chimanimani, about 400 km (248 miles) southeast of Harare, Marcia Matsika collects baobab fruit in the scorching heat. She is one of 8,000 small-scale farmers in dry land areas of Zimbabwe who have benefitted from a program designed to teach harvesting and production skills and to link collectors or farmers to buyers and markets.

“I collect some wild fruits which I then sell,” Marcia Matsika told DW. “The project is assisting me quite a lot. I can now pay school fees for my six children and I can now buy food. We have since bought a water pump.”

The underlying idea of the project was to concentrate on indigenous plants that had a high nutritional, pharmaceutical or other value but were not being used to their full potential. They include baobabs, devil’s claw, rosella and chili peppers.
The three-year program has just been completed.

It was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union and was implemented by several partner organizations.
Getting the ball rolling

Read more at Deutsche Welle