A Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP) has been launched in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province, amid efforts by the government and its partners to enhance food security in various communities.

The initiative, which is a partnership between the government, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) was launched this Thursday.

“We are going to be drilling boreholes and renovating the existing ones. Youths, women and people with disabilities are also catered for so that we take everyone on board,” Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project’s National Project Coordinator, Pedzisai Nemadziva noted.

Director Business Development in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Abraham Mashumba said the project is part of the government’s broader efforts to enhance agricultural productivity, promote commercial horticulture, and improve livelihoods in rural communities.

“We are moving from a subsistence approach to a more market-oriented approach where we do not grow until we get a market, with our emphasis on horticulture.”

The project, funded to the tune of US$72 million and set to run for eight years, is one of the several government projects meant to improve nutrition and increase resilience in the face of the ever-changing climate.