SUMMARY

Listed below are the most significant achievements that were made by the Unlocking Zimbabwe’s Organic Potential (Organic Conservation Agriculture 1&2) project in terms of changing the lives of the targeted groups and/or changes in policy.

• 948 farming households actively participated in the project and had access to new skills, markets, and income.
• 44 associations in total (due to a division of 1 large association) were formed, with a an average of 22 members of both male and female per each farmer group.
• 100% of farmers fully certified, along with their organic market gardens (1.5-5ha). Conversion expanded to household plots due to income success.
• 185ha of land was certified under the project.
• Diversified production (providing household dietary, ecological, and market diversity for resilience) of up to 17 different crops. Production & yields across the board increased by 200%. (ie., maize increased by 330%, impacting household food security, & cash crops such as lettuce and tomatoes by 425% & 170% respectively).
• Sales of organic produce (OP) $131,957 (36% to formal markets) – project increase of 290%
• Increased sales combined with reduced expenditure on chemicals has resulted in investments in school fees, additional food stuffs, small livestock, extending homesteads, solar lighting and radios for the targeted households.
• The project has seen a 10% increase in male involvement, suggesting that organic agriculture (OA) is increasingly recognised in terms of commodified production.
• 10 further associations (241 farmers) independently trained by local project standards trainers.
• Due to increased profile, NGOs and institutions are converting their farmers, with a total of 8,104 farmers now engaged in certification, and 440 ha of certified land nationally.
• 302 project farmers now have UNDP funding for capital infrastructure.
• Households with access to clean water has near doubled (HH water capture & deep wells) with 90% reporting an improvement in the time to collect for drinking, sanitation & irrigation.