SAT currently has 6 ongoing projects, including two that are supported by the European Union (EU) under the Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Program (ZAGP) – i.e. the Beef Enterprise Strengthening and Transformation (BEST) project and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Services (ZAKIS) project.
The other four projects currently implemented by SAT are:
- the EU-funded Integrated Land Use and Environment Management Planning (ILUEMP) project
- the EU-funded Reviving the Exports of Oranges and Paprika and Exploring the Niche of Saffron (REOPENS) project,
- the Enhancing the Resilience of Vulnerable Households in Zimbabwe (ERVHIZ) project supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and
- the Seeds for Future
Beef Enterprise Strengthening and Transformation (BEST) Project
The BEST project covers 10 districts in Zimbabwe, and seeks to enable at least 10,000 small to medium scale beef producers to derive improved benefits through a series of interventions that address identified bottlenecks in the beef value chain. SAT is responsible for project implementation in four of the project districts – Lupane, Umguza, Chiredzi and Mwenezi. SAT is part of a Consortium led by World Vision Zimbabwe, and has mobilised the private sector in order to improve access to a wide range of services that include, among others: inputs, training and extension, finance, improved breeds, veterinary supplies, offtake markets, and improved access to stockfeed and pastures. Cattle Business Centres (CBCs), established with private sector support, are helping deliver these beef value chain services to farmers. At Lapache and Balu in Mwenezi and Umguza respectively, SAT has also established 50 hectares of irrigated pastures in each site and these have helped reduce livestock poverty deaths, improve calving rates and increase the size of the carcass, thereby translating into improved economic returns for beef producers.
Enhancing the Resilience of Vulnerable Households in Zimbabwe (ERVHIZ) Project
Since November 2021, SAT has been implementing the ERVHIZ project in six districts in Matabeleland South – Beitbridge, Bulilima, Gwanda, Insiza, Matobo and Mangwe. ERVHIZ targets 88,000 rural households in vulnerable situations in the face of economic and climate induced shocks and stresses. The project seeks to increase the resilience of these households to food crises and climate change by increasing sustainable crop and livestock production through low-input agroecological production practices, improved post-harvest management techniques and improved rangeland management. SAT aims to achieve this through the farmer field school (FFS) and the lead farmer approaches, and by working closely with the Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) Directorate in all project districts.
Integrated Land Use and Environment Management Planning (ILUEMP) Project
The ILUEMP (February 2021 to October 2024) is a sustainable integrated landscape management of the Gonarezhou National Park and its surrounds in Zimbabwe’s South East Lowveld. The project seeks to improve the livelihoods of communities living in transfrontier conservation areas, and offers incentives for these communities to become active conservation partners. The project also has a solar and carbon credits component, including the design and implementation of a Photovoltaic (Solar) Power Plant for Malilangwe Game Reserve. The implementation of the Solar Plant will happen in three Phases with Phases 1 and 2 designed to take Malilangwe off the National Grid and produce all the Reserve’s power requirements. The implementation of this plant will result in a stable, reliable and uninterrupted source of power and a reduction of Malilangwe’s energy and diesel-generator fuel bills. Removing Malilangwe Reserve from Zimbabwe’s national grid (that is heavily reliant on coal powered electricity generation) and replacing it with a clean, green alternative is good for the environment. A portion of Malilangwe’s cost of the Solar Power will go to SAT-WILD, and directed into community livelihood enhancement projects around Malilangwe and Gonarezhou National Park. The plant is to be designed with a 25-year lifespan, with transfer of ownership to Malilangwe Trust taking place after 15 years in a build, own, operate and transfer type of contract.
Reviving the Exports of Oranges and Paprika and Exploring the Niche of Saffron (REOPENS) Project
The REOPENS project (February 2020 to July 2023) is part of a broader programme between the EU and the Government of Zimbabwe – the Zimbabwe Economic Partnership Agreement (ZEPA), which seeks to promote exports into the EU by small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and smallholder farmers. Cesvi, an Italian international NGO, heads the REOPENS Consortium and is responsible for project implementation in Beitbridge and Mwenezi districts, while SAT spearheads implementation in Makoni and Bulilima districts. In the last two seasons, the number of smallholder paprika growers reached by SAT in Makoni district has increased from 452 farmers on 112 hectares in season one to at least 1,300 farmers on 450 hectares in season two. SAT provides training to farmers on paprika nursery establishment and management, field management of paprika and post-harvest management. SAT provides the farmers with paprika seed and linkages to offtake markets abroad, which has made it possible for growers to earn foreign currency. Farmers receive training through demonstration plots, Lead Farmers and local ARDAS Field Officers. The REOPENS project also provides technical support, training and grants to 4 Business Service Organisations (BSOs) – Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), Horticulture Development Council (HDC), Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) and ZIMTRADE – in order to improve their service delivery to SMEs and smallholder farmers.
Seeds for the Future (SEFF) Project
The AICS-funded SEFF project, whose implementation commenced in June 2022 and will run for 36 months, targets 5,950 smallholder farmers in the dry agroecological districts of Chiredzi, Masvingo and Mwenezi. SAT is part of a Consortium led by COSPE, an international NGO from Italy. SAT’s main role on the project is to provide technical support to increase farmer productivity and to establish an agroprocessing centre at Rutenga in Mwenezi district, where paprika will be the main crop processed. The value addition centre will also process other crops such as sunflowers, sesame, groundnuts, sugar beans and small grains. Under this project, SAT has also established a Joint Venture (JV) with Lapache Irrigation Scheme for the commercial production of paprika over 15 hectares in the 2022-2023 season. The JV has numerous benefits to Lapache and the local community, including employment opportunities created for locals across the paprika value chain, knowledge transfer on how to produce paprika commercially and how to manage a centre pivot system and a share of the profits from paprika production with 9% of the gross turnover paid out as a dividend. In addition, the new centre pivot procured under the project will remain the property of Lapache Irrigation Scheme at the end of the JV tenure.
Zimbabwe Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Services (ZAKIS) Project
Since August 2018, SAT has been part of a WHH-led Consortium that seeks to transform knowledge and innovation services to contribute to the development of a diversified and efficient agricultural sector that promotes inclusive green economic growth. This EU-funded initiative, which is a component of the ZAGP, has established Agricultural Centres of Excellence (ACE) at Chibero Agricultural College and Matopos Research Station. The project is also building capacity in the Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) Directorate and the Department of Research and Specialist Services (DRSS). It will also contribute to the development and implementation of a functional and integrated institutional framework that brings together agriculture research, education and extension services.
