Smart partnership in action

The ILO, in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Art and Recreation completed the construction of a fruits and vegetables pack-house built with financial support by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Youth and Women Empowerment Project (YWEP).

News | 30 July 2019
Contact(s): ILO Harare Office Tel +2634369806-12 Email: harare@lo.org
Proof that Smart Partnerships work in transforming lives of the underprivileged, pulling the poor up from the sticky floor.


The ILO, in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Art and Recreation completed the construction of a Fruits and Vegetables Pack house which was funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Youth and Women Empowerment Project (YWEP).

Recently, the political and provincial leadership for Mashonaland East Province, accompanied by ILO project staff, undertook a monitoring visit to Mutoko District where one of the project sites is located. An anchor enterprise, that will add value to fruits and vegetables for surrounding communities, was established. Its objective is to stem the challenges of post-harvest loss, limited access to markets, unemployment and low incomes for horticultural farmers and other value chain actors.

The facilities that have been built include: the fruits and vegetables pack house that has been fitted with a cold room storage, three phase electricity supply and running water supply from a prolific borehole as well as, ablution facilities for staff.

Fruits and vegetables packaging equipment have also been installed and with initial consumables availed, the anchor enterprise is set to commence operations.
Women youth farmers demonstrated to the delegation the use of the equipment by packaging fresh tomatoes, peas, okra and carrots. The packaged vegetables were sold to the mission delegation at competitive prices which were more than double what the farmers normally receive because of the value added through packaging.


‘’The anchor enterprise model is a replicable model that promotes district level value addition and should be adopted by all districts’’, was the Minister’s concluding remarks.