Zimbabwe: Smallholder Tea Farmers Certified

MORE than 500 smallholder tea farmers in Honde Valley recently attained the internationally recognised UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification in line with new global tea market benchmarks. The certification process, facilitated by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) in collaboration with the Honde Valley Smallholder Development Company, is part of the Danish International Development Agency-funded Rural Agriculture Revitalisation Project, an initiative that seeks to facilitate the commercialisation of smallholder agriculture in Zimbabwe with the hope of promoting improved household incomes, employment and food security.

Cloffas Nyagumbo, SNV horticulture programme advisor said: "The biggest international tea buyers have committed to tackle climate change by buying products that come from sustainable farms. As a result, the year 2015 was set as the deadline for all tea growers to comply with internationally agreed sustainability standards." After 2015 the global market will no longer buy non-certified teas.

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