{"id":12769,"date":"2026-01-09T08:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T08:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/12769\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T08:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T08:13:12","slug":"zimbabwe-food-and-agriculture-organisation-of-the-united-nations-fao-agricultural-voucher-system-boosts-food-security-and-promotes-protection-from-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/12769\/","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) agricultural voucher system boosts food security and promotes protection from sexual exploitation and abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Food<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe funded by the French Government,\u00a0coordinated\u00a0the Agricultural Voucher System as part of the Nourish and Thrive: Inclusive and Sustainable Nutrition and Livelihoods Initiative Project. This coordinated effort aims to enhance food security and nutrition by providing rural households with subsidized access to high-quality agricultural inputs, thereby fostering resilient and sustainable livelihoods in drought-affected regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This initiative tackles urgent nutrition and food security challenges in regions\u00a0of Masvingo and Mwenezi districts\u00a0affected by drought, specifically supporting rural households\u00a0impacted\u00a0by the El Ni\u00f1o-induced crisis. By distributing subsidised agricultural input packages through a voucher system, the project empowers farmers to obtain high-quality, drought-tolerant seeds and essential resources. This approach not only improves access to resilient agricultural inputs but also strengthens households\u2019 capacity to recover and thrive despite adverse climate conditions, promoting long-term food security and sustainable livelihoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0voucher distribution\u00a0event brought\u00a0together\u00a0local leadership, agro-dealers, and\u00a0project participants, marking a significant step towards\u00a0inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems transformation. The programme\u00a0targeted\u00a04,000 households across selected wards in Masvingo and Mwenezi, ensuring\u00a0timely\u00a0access to nutritious crops and promoting resilience in the face of climate shocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to boosting agricultural productivity, the mission placed strong emphasis on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), underscoring FAO\u2019s steadfast dedication to safeguarding vulnerable community members. Participants received comprehensive education on effective strategies to prevent exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers and development partners, fostering a culture of awareness and accountability throughout the programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA stitch in time saves nine. It is important that we share the information we learnt with our colleagues and teams and create awareness to prevent exploitation and abuse,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Ruramai Sibiya from World Vision Zimbabwe highlighting\u00a0the importance of proactive awareness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the mission, FAO trained Voucher Redeeming Suppliers (VRS) on the\u00a0FAO\u2019s\u00a0Identification, Delivery and Empowerment Application (IDEA)<\/a>\u00a0platform.\u00a0The IDEA platform is a digital ecosystem of applications designed to protect and manage beneficiary data, deliver\u00a0assistance, and distribute aid using cash and voucher modalities\u00a0ensuring smooth voucher redemption and transparency in input\u00a0delivery. The training covered system navigation, troubleshooting, and customer service best practices. Local leadership engagement and on-site monitoring further strengthened accountability and efficiency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Embedded in its implementation strategy, the Nourish and Thrive project\u00a0also\u00a0seeks\u00a0to increase awareness and strengthen prevention measures against sexual exploitation and abuse among all stakeholders, reinforcing FAO\u2019s commitment to safeguarding vulnerable communities while promoting inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0training on Prevention of\u00a0Sexual Exploitation and Abuse\u00a0was very much educative, and I followed it properly. I thank\u00a0the\u00a0FAO team for this opportunity,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Dumisani\u00a0Simango, an\u00a0agro-dealer from Masvingo, expressing\u00a0his\u00a0appreciation for this\u00a0initiative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

FAO\u00a0remains\u00a0committed to building resilient agrifood systems and upholding the highest standards of protection and accountability. Through initiatives like the Nourish and Thrive Project, FAO ensures that communities not only recover from climate shocks but also thrive in safe, inclusive environments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FAO\u2019s PSEA Focal Person, Leticia Njowola, emphasized that reinforcing PSEA is anchored on FAO\u2019s zero-tolerance policy, which applies to all UN personnel, implementing partners, and service providers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPreventing and protecting against sexual exploitation and abuse is a priority in the humanitarian and development sector. Any form of exploitation or abuse violates people\u2019s rights and undermines programme sustainability and impact. At a policy level, embedding PSEA measures ensures institutional accountability, strengthens governance frameworks, and reinforces trust between implementing partners and the communities they serve, critical for achieving inclusive and rights-based sustainable agrifood systems transformation,\u201d Njowola said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe funded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[106],"class_list":{"0":"post-12769","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-zimbabwe","8":"tag-zimbabwe"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}