A quiet but powerful revolution is blooming across Zimbabwe’s rural landscape, one rooted not in politics or policy papers alone, but in small fields, community gardens, and local markets. It is called the Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP), and it carries the transformative promise of prosperity, dignity, and empowerment for over 71,000 rural households.
Launched in 2023 and running through 2031, HEEP is a landmark $65.5 million initiative co-financed by the Government of Zimbabwe, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). Its core mission is to raise incomes, strengthen food security, and empower smallholder farmers, particularly in under-resourced, arid regions. But beyond those measurable goals lies a deeper vision: the creation of a dynamic, export-ready horticulture sector that will redefine Zimbabwe’s agricultural economy.
HEEP is firmly aligned with the government’s Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy and is central to the ambitious Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan, which envisions a US$1 billion horticulture industry. What makes this project stand out is its two-pronged implementation strategy: the development of Village Horticulture Gardens (VHGs) targeting the poorest households in 20 districts across all provinces and the integration of commercially viable smallholder farmers into formal value chains through the 4P (Public-Private-Producer-Partnership) model, nationwide.
The project has already begun establishing 620 VHGs, strategically located near Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA)-managed irrigation schemes. Each of the 20 targeted districts will host 10 wards, and each province will benefit from 155 community gardens, demonstrating a scale and intensity rarely seen in rural development initiatives. These VHGs aim to uplift 31,000 farmers through improved production techniques, better post-harvest handling, enhanced local market access, and critical capacity building. Meanwhile, the 4P approach will benefit an additional 20,000 farmers across high-potential areas in Natural Regions I and II, particularly in the Mashonaland provinces and Manicaland.
To complement the productivity push, HEEP is also catalyzing job creation by offering seasonal and part-time employment to an estimated 20,000 individuals, many of whom will work with anchor firms, smallholders, and service providers involved in the horticulture value chain. Inclusivity is woven into the fabric of the programme, 50% of beneficiaries will be women, 30% youth, and at least 2,000 individuals will be persons with disabilities, selected through partnerships with local community organisations.
But HEEP’s impact is not limited to the direct recipients. The surrounding communities—an estimated 50,000 households not formally enrolled in the programme, stand to benefit from better road access to markets, schools, and health centres, and from the ripple effects of local economic growth. In rural Zimbabwe, where opportunities often arrive slowly or not at all, HEEP represents a surge of coordinated investment and empowerment.
This is a project with vision, but also with financial muscle. It draws US$37.1 million from IFAD, US$15 million from OFID, and US$5.2 million from the Government of Zimbabwe. Private sector players, including financial institutions and anchor firms, are injecting US$8.1 million, while smallholder farmers themselves will contribute US$1 million, reflecting a strong sense of ownership and sustainability. The Horticulture Development Council will also play a vital role, contributing US$590,000 to the effort.
What sets HEEP apart is not only its design but its timing. At a moment when Zimbabwe is seeking to reposition its economy through agriculture and export-led growth, HEEP is not just an aid programme, it’s an engine for long-term transformation. It blends rural resilience with economic strategy, creating new corridors of opportunity in districts that have long been overlooked.
In the years to come, as Zimbabwe marches toward Vision 2030, the quiet impact of HEEP may be felt most strongly not in boardrooms or capital cities, but in the green rows of a village garden, where a farmer, perhaps a young, woman or a disabled father, harvests crops that are feeding both his household and a growing regional market. That, in essence, is the promise of HEEP: real people, real change, rooted in the soil of potential.
