Empowering farmers in Zimbabwe through FAO and EU initiatives

Zimbabwe is advancing from reactive to proactive disaster risk management with help from the European Union and other organisations

Recently, over 50 stakeholders met in Bulawayo to discuss the successes and challenges of a two-year anticipatory action project funded by ECHO. This project, from 2023 to 2025, focuses on improving how communities prepare for climate-driven disasters, particularly the severe drought expected from El Niño in 2023-2024.

Judith Ncube, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Bulawayo, said,“The 2023–2024 El Niño drought brought untold hardship to our communities. Yet in the face of empty rivers, cracked fields and hunger, we saw something extraordinary; communities, government and aid agencies standing together. This workshop is not just about what went wrong, but how ordinary people’s resilience helped shape extraordinary responses.”

The project has created frameworks that enhance coordination among diverse groups and developed tools for early warnings and disaster financing. Key achievements include forming the Anticipatory Action Community of Practice, which links local decision-making to national systems. The Zimbabwe government launched a US$3 in response to the drought crisis. A 3 bn appeal for emergency and resilience support initiated a food distribution programme for vulnerable populations.

Key outputs like the national Anticipatory Action Roadmap and impact forecasting models are now guiding broader regional disaster management efforts. As the event ended, partners urged ongoing investments in anticipatory action for resilience, stressing the need to embed early action into national systems as climate risks grow. The initiative shows that with partnerships and community involvement, Zimbabwe can progress from responding to crises to building long-term resilience.

Edward Kallon, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Zimbabwe stated,“Anticipatory action is not just a technical process; it is a lifeline. It is about the mother in Chiredzi who received early warnings and planted drought-tolerant crops just in time. It is about a child in Tsholotsho who did not go hungry because food assistance came before the crisis hit. This is the future of disaster response.”