Harare, Zimbabwe – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Zimbabwe, together with development partners and government representatives, held the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) Phase 2 Inception Workshop from 7 to 9 October 2025. The meeting marked a key step in operationalizing the programme, which aims to strengthen climate resilience and improve livelihoods for 450,000 people across seven rural districts.
Building on the achievements and lessons learned from ZRBF Phase 1 (2015–2023), Phase 2 focuses on consolidating and expanding resilience-building efforts in the Mid Zambezi and Southeast Lowveld landscapes. The programme is jointly implemented by UNDP Zimbabwe, FAO Zimbabwe, and the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, with funding from the European Union and the Government of Ireland.
The inception workshop brought together government ministries, implementing organizations, and donors to align programme priorities, governance structures, and implementation strategies. Discussions highlighted the adoption of a landscape approach to resilience building while scaling up successful Phase 1 interventions, and strengthened collaboration among partners by leveraging FAO’s global expertise and other partners’ experiences.
ZRBF 2 targets districts including Mbire, Kariba, Hurungwe, Binga, Chiredzi, Mwenezi, and Beitbridge, with a focus on climate adaptation, sustainable natural resource management, and inclusive rural economic growth. Representatives from the EU and the Embassy of Ireland reaffirmed their commitment to supporting community resilience, emphasizing the importance of empowering communities to adapt, innovate, and contribute to sustainable development.
FAO’s technical role in ZRBF 2 centers on natural resource management and climate-smart agriculture, ensuring interventions are evidence-based and community-driven. The organization will work with the USHINGI Consortium, led by DanChurchAid, in the Mid Zambezi Landscape, and the RECLAIM Consortium, led by CARE International, in the Southeast Lowveld, to deliver field-based interventions that enhance productivity while protecting ecosystems.
The workshop explored applying a landscape-based resilience approach, emphasizing evidence generation, capacity building, and climate and disaster risk governance. Central to discussions was the graduation model, a framework designed to help communities move from vulnerability to self-reliance by diversifying livelihoods, improving market and financial access, and strengthening adaptive capacity.
ZRBF 2 aims to generate knowledge, strengthen institutional and community capacities, enhance natural resource management, expand livelihood opportunities, and reinforce climate and disaster risk governance. Through this collaborative effort, FAO and its partners are laying the foundation for sustainable rural transformation in Zimbabwe, enabling communities to thrive in harmony with nature while building resilience against climate shocks.
