Villagers in Makoni District have joined forces with schools to initiate development that is contributing towards food and nutrition security.
The initiatives, which include a greenhouse fruit tree nursery with over 10 000 grafted trees at Holy Name Matsika Primary School, a fishery now holding 20 000 fingerlings and a vibrant orchard and vegetable garden, are helping to reduce the rates of malnutrition in the district.
Food and nutrition security is one of the key pillars under the National Development Strategy.
Owing to the El Nino induced drought, which has affected the food security of more than 7 million Zimbabweans, Government has rolled out initiatives that are aimed at improving access to food and reduce the prevalence of malnutrition.
According to the 2024 Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee report, 18.6 percent of adolescents in Makoni district are affected by malnutrition.
To address this, the projects at Matsika Primary School are supplementing the school feeding programme, with proceeds from the sale of the fruit trees and the remaining fish going towards developments at the school.
On its part, the community is supporting the school in running the projects while also getting food.
Speaking during a recent visit by the Food and Nutrition Security Committee to the district, Matsika Primary school head Mr Rueben Mamhunze said the projects were doing well because of the community's support.
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"In trying to implement Government policies such as access to quality education as well as the feeding programme, we want to thank our partners and the community for assisting us with these two vibrant projects. We are managing to give our learners at least one hot meal for five days a week. We give them what is known as the five-star diet, a diet with all the required nutrients. Because of this, the rate of absenteeism at the school has reduced significantly," he said.
Besides supplementing the feeding programme, the projects are also being used as learning hubs for learners who are involved in all processes in line with the heritage based curriculum.
National Food and Nutrition Security Committee chair Mrs Nester Gumbo said sub-national food and nutrition security committees had been put in place across the country with a mandate to drive the food and nutrition security agenda through implementing interventions.
"The interventions that are being done at Matsika Primary school are actually speaking to the promotion of nutrition and also food security", she said.
Makoni district nutritionist Ms Lorine Ndangana said the programme was making an impact across the district.
"Basically, the goal is to try and provide a four star meal, that is, a meal that has got staples, legumes, fruit and vegetables, and an animal source. But, however, we are encouraging our schools to give whatever it is that they have at their disposal as they continue to look for more resources to improve their school feeding programmes", she said.
