REAP: The Future of Food in Zimbabwe is Female
Some of the most vulnerable women farmers in Zimbabwe could become pioneers in transforming the country’s food system.
Widows, women living with HIV/AIDS, and underage brides in the Buhera region of Zimbabwe are among those targeted by the Renewable Energy for Gendered Agribusiness Program (REAP), a Zimbabwean joint initiative with the Community Water Alliance (CWA), smallholder women farmers, and women waste-pickers to learn how to future-proof their traditional agricultural skills.
The impact of climate challenges is especially high for rural women and young girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Limited access to education, child marriage, and sexual exploitation have long been the reality of millions of women’s lives in this part of the world. But the threat of climate change and a complex set of issues means that they are now facing a higher risk which could lead to loss of livelihoods.
For women, patriarchal traditional community leadership and male-dominated rural district councils often means limited access to farmland to grow food both for themselves and to take to market. With fewer technical skills in general than male farmers, women are more susceptible to rising poverty and health issues, leaving them with little control to find their own solutions.

REAP offers a business model which aims to support the upskilling of small-scale women farmers with limited land. The initiative believes that giving them access to technology, knowledge transfer, mechanization, and improved farming techniques could reduce waste, promote responsible consumption, and add economic value to the farming sector. REAP says that modern agro-processing alongside the preservation of traditional food knowledge could transform food systems already challenged by the impacts of climate change.
Working with rural councils, REAP’s program educates participating women in new technology including efficient solar-powered drip irrigation systems and greenhouses which could increase crop yield and prolong the harvest season, harnessing the power of the African sun. It encourages them to create biodiversity corridors boosting natural habitats, enhancing water catchment and increasing forestry canopy across the whole region.
The initiative claims that its model of education, solar-powered technology will mitigate climate impact while creating essential employment, food security, water security, health and well-being for half the Zimbabwean population.
Learn more about REAP.
Written by Gilly Smith
Images provided by REAP
