Zimbabwe: A shift towards market-oriented agricultural livelihoods
Revitalizing irrigation schemes, coupled with farmer field schools and peer-to-peer support, can enhance water security for smallholder farmers and empower them better access to markets, increased income and food security.
Intervention
The objective of the project (2020-2027) is to strengthen resilience of agricultural livelihoods of vulnerable communities, particularly women, in southern Zimbabwe in the face of increasing climate risks and impacts. The project intervention builds the climate resilience of vulnerable agriculture livelihoods in 15 districts across three provinces of Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland South through the following strategic components: i) increasing access to water for climate-resilient agriculture through climate resilient irrigation systems and efficient water resource management, ii) increasing access to climate-resilient inputs and practices, as well as stronger market linkages and iii) improving access to weather, climate, and hydrological information for climate-resilient agriculture.
Impact Evaluation timeline
Approaches to assess the impact
Following an experimental approach (RCT), baseline data collection was completed for 4,180 farmer households (1,352 treatment and 2,828 control) and covered the indicators related to access and use of climate information services for decision making, use of climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices, crop production, water security, management capacity and food security status. Endline is expected to be collected in 2027.
