In brief:
•    GCF, the Government of Zimbabwe, UNDP and national partners are translating climate finance into practical investments across southern Zimbabwe, combining irrigation, agricultural innovation, climate information and farmer-led learning to strengthen vulnerable rural livelihoods. 
•    Climate-resilient irrigation is expanding productive agriculture and water security, including a 156-hectare scheme benefiting 300 farmers from 12 villages at Pikinini-Jawanda and the expansion of Vimbanayi Irrigation Scheme from 23 to 35 hectares, supporting more reliable and diversified crop production. 
•    Farmer-led agricultural innovation is reaching thousands of farmers, with the Makoholi Innovation Platform supporting 15 Farmer Field Schools, 56 demonstration plots and six silage pits, directly reaching 330 farmers and extending knowledge to around 1,500 additional farmers through peer learning. 
•    Investment in knowledge and technical capacity is strengthening climate-smart farming systems, including training 188 extension officers in fodder harvesting and feed formulation, while a GCF-supported Feed Nutrition Laboratory has already tested 327 samples since October 2025. 
•    Further investment could substantially expand climate-resilient livelihoods, including the development of a 400-hectare irrigation scheme at Mwerahari expected to serve around 1,333 households, with deliberate inclusion of women and persons with disabilities in the opportunities created.

From climate-resilient irrigation and agricultural innovation to climate information and farmer-led learning, the Green Climate Fund Secretariat’s inaugural Country Engagement and Programming Mission to Zimbabwe brought climate finance closer to the people and communities it is designed to serve.
In August 2026, representatives of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Secretariat joined the Government of Zimbabwe, UNDP and project partners for field visits under the GCF-funded Building Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Livelihoods in Southern Zimbabwe project, popularly known as the Climate Resilient Livelihoods (CRL) Project.
The mission provided an important opportunity to move beyond reports and presentations and witness first-hand the progress, results and emerging impacts of climate investments on farming communities.
The journey took the delegation to irrigation schemes, Farmer Field Schools (FFSs), an Innovation Platform and communities across Masvingo and Manicaland provinces. Throughout the mission, farmers were not simply beneficiaries of climate finance; they were active participants, demonstrating how they are applying new technologies, climate information and knowledge to build more resilient livelihoods.
Where innovation meets the farmer
The first chapters of the field journey demonstrated that innovation is most powerful when it moves from research institutions into farmers' hands.
At Makoholi Innovation Platform, agricultural research is being translated into practical solutions for farmers living in semi-arid areas. The platform supports 15 Farmer Field Schools, 56 demonstration plots and six silage pits, directly reaching 330 farmers and extending knowledge to approximately 1,500 follower farmers through farmer-to-farmer learning.
Climate-resilient Sabi sheep, indigenous chickens, locally sourced livestock feed, sweet potato production and value addition, and multipurpose trees are among the solutions being promoted. The platform has also trained 188 extension officers in fodder harvesting and feed formulation, helping move climate-smart livestock knowledge beyond the research station and into farming communities.
The mission also toured the Feed Nutrition Laboratory, established through complementary GCF and Government investment. The laboratory has tested 327 samples since beginning sample testing in October 2025, providing a growing foundation for improved feed analysis, livestock productivity, research and technical advisory services.
The lesson from Makoholi was clear: innovation does not end with research. Its real value emerges when farmers can test it, adapt it to their circumstances and share what works with others.
When reliable water unlocks opportunity
From agricultural innovation, the field journey moved to another critical ingredient of climate resilience: water.
At Pikinini-Jawanda Irrigation Scheme in Mwenezi, the impact of reliable water could be seen not only in productive plots, but also in the confidence with which farmers are increasingly managing their agricultural enterprise.
The 156-hectare irrigation scheme supports 300 beneficiaries from 12 villages, enabling farmers to diversify production and increasingly engage with markets. Yet what particularly stood out during the visit was not only the irrigation infrastructure or the crops in the fields, but how farmers were managing the investment.
Reflecting on the visit, Dr Patrick Gitonga, GCF Secretariat Mission Lead, said he was impressed by the scheme, particularly the farmers’ bookkeeping and record-keeping standards.
Their ability to maintain clear production and financial records reflect a growing capacity to manage the scheme as a productive and sustainable agricultural enterprise. It also highlights an important part of the CRL story: climate resilience is not only about providing infrastructure; it is also about strengthening the institutions, skills and systems that enable communities to sustain those investments long after construction is complete.
From water to production—and production to livelihoods
At Vimbanayi Irrigation Scheme in Chipinge, the connection between infrastructure and livelihoods became even clearer.
The project expanded the scheme from 23 to 35 hectares and strengthened its water abstraction, storage and conveyance infrastructure. Farmers are putting that investment to productive use through maize, chilli, sugar bean and vegetable production.
For Charles Madzoka, Chairperson of the scheme’s Production Committee, the difference is already being felt.
“Since our system was climate-proofed, our production has significantly increased and we now have income streams from the different crops that we are cultivating,” said Madzoka.
Behind those increased production figures are changes that matter at the household level. More reliable water means farmers can produce more consistently, diversify crops and pursue new market opportunities. In turn, agricultural income can help families meet household expenses and plan with greater confidence.
The investment-to-impact connection is therefore increasingly visible: reliable water supports production; production creates market opportunities; and income strengthens the ability of households to cope with shocks.
But farmers described another impact that is much harder to capture in production statistics.
Fungai Sithole, a farmer at Vimbanayi Irrigation Scheme, reflected on how improved livelihood opportunities have affected relationships within households. In her experience, having multiple sources of agricultural income, and women being able to contribute economically to their households has helped bring greater harmony to families.
Her experience points to a wider dimension of resilience: when climate investments strengthen livelihoods, their benefits can extend beyond the field into household wellbeing, dignity and economic participation.
A school for farmers, right in the field
Not every climate solution visited during the mission was made of concrete, steel or irrigation pipes.
At Chimbudzi and Tafuka Farmer Field Schools, some of the most important investments were in knowledge, experimentation and farmers learning from one another.
The Farmer Field School approach turns the field into a practical classroom. These FFS who are also benefitting from Makoholi and Chisumbanje innovation platforms demonstrated conservation agriculture, climate-smart livestock practices, fodder production and the use of climate information to understand and manage agricultural risks.
Through Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA), farmers are learning to combine climate information with knowledge of the resources available to them when planning their farming activities.
For Joyce Maposa, a member of Tafuka Farmer Field School, this has changed how she looks at her own farm.
“PICSA has helped me map the resources that are available to me at my homestead. As a result, I am now able to understand what I have, identify what I need, and make better-informed decisions about how to use those resources for my farming and livelihood,” said Maposa.
Her experience captures an important element of the project’s approach: climate information becomes most valuable when farmers can translate it into practical decisions, from understanding the resources at their disposal to deciding what and when to plant and how to prepare for climate risks.
Farmer Field Schools are also providing an important pathway for reaching communities where some planned irrigation investments could not proceed for technical reasons. Intended beneficiaries of some deferred schemes have been integrated into FFS interventions, enabling them to access climate-smart agricultural knowledge and apply lessons within their dryland farming systems.
While these interventions do not replace the benefits that irrigation would have provided, they offer communities practical tools for strengthening resilience under increasingly challenging climatic conditions.
Hope taking shape at Mwerahari
While some sites demonstrated investments already delivering results, Mwerahari Irrigation Scheme in Buhera offered a glimpse of what communities hope the next chapter will bring.
The major ongoing investment is designed to develop a 400-hectare irrigated command area serving approximately 1,333 households. The scheme is expected to support communities to transition from predominantly subsistence farming towards more productive and market-oriented agriculture, including maize, wheat, sugar beans and chillies.
To say the intended beneficiary community is excited about the investment would be an understatement.
For many families, Mwerahari represents hope for a brighter and more secure future, not only for themselves, but for their children and generations to come.
Importantly, that future is being built with inclusion at its heart. Persons with disabilities are being included as participants and beneficiaries, rather than simply as observers, ensuring they have a voice and a stake in the opportunities the scheme is expected to create.
For Aaron Matsvai, a member of the scheme living with a disability, being included carries particular significance.
“I never thought I would get the opportunity to fully participate in the scheme because of my disability. I was so grateful when I heard that the project was also considering people living with disabilities. I now look forward to a better future for all of us,” said Matsvai.
His words capture an important principle underpinning climate action: resilience can only be truly transformative when no one is left behind.
Building resilience before the next shock
The timing of the mission gave these stories added significance.
As farming communities prepare for anticipated El Niño-related dry conditions, the investments showcased during the mission, from reliable irrigation water and climate-resilient agricultural practices to climate information, livestock feed conservation and stronger farmer institutions, will face an important test.
But resilience is ultimately built before the shock arrives. It is built when a farmer can access water despite declining rainfall. It is built when climate information helps a household make a more informed planting decision. It is built when livestock feed is conserved ahead of a dry period. It is built when farmers diversify their crops and sources of income. And it is strengthened when women, persons with disabilities and other community members can participate meaningfully in the opportunities created by climate investment.
The field mission therefore offered more than an opportunity to inspect project activities. It provided a window into how climate finance is being translated into knowledge, productive assets, stronger institutions and greater agency for farming communities.
From the research and innovation emerging from Makoholi, to farmers managing irrigation investments at Pikinini-Jawanda and Vimbanayi; from Joyce Maposa using climate information to make decisions at Tafuka, to Aaron Matsvai looking towards a future in which he can participate fully at Mwerahari, the people behind the numbers brought the story of climate finance to life.
For Zimbabwe’s farming communities, that is where climate investment becomes climate resilience.