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Thandeka Moyo Ndlovu

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THE USAID has handed over US$8,7 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to power its resilience-building activities for more than 65 000 people in five food-insecure communities for the next six months.

The money will be channelled towards providing participants under WFP’s Food Assistance for Assets activities with food assistance in return for work, support the creation or rehabilitation of small-scale farming infrastructure, village savings and lending groups, as well as provide training on business management in Kariba, Masvingo, Mwenezi, Rushinga and Zvishavane districts.

In a statement, WFP said the initiative is designed to meet immediate food needs through food distributions while investing in productive assets.

“Participants will receive monthly food allotments consisting of maize meal, pulses, and cooking oil for the duration of the work while the entire community benefits from the completed assets. Participants also receive training on insurance and financial inclusion and food processing and are linked to nearby markets,” said WFP acting country director, Ms Christine Mendes.

She said lauded the US government for its continued support in enabling vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe to withstand the negative impact of climate change and recurrent economic shocks.

“The beauty of transformational activities lies in empowering communities not only to have food today and tomorrow, but also to prevent and mitigate future food crises, as well reduce humanitarian needs over time, while paving the way toward self-sufficient futures,” said Ms Mendes.

Since 2011, through its resilience-building activities, more than 1,2 million people in 30 districts have benefitted from WFP-supported productive assets.

WFP has created approximately 400 small dams and 80 irrigation systems, helped establish 520 hectares of vegetable gardens, and drilled more than 60 mostly solar-powered boreholes.

USAID acting mission director Mr Ramses Gauthier said: “Our longstanding funding for the Food Assistance for Assets program demonstrates the US government’s commitment to tackling food insecurity in Zimbabwe. We are happy to work with a ready, willing, and capable partner, the World Food Programme, to accomplish this vital task.”