EU and IFAD Launch €14 Million ATHAZ Horticulture Initiative in Southern Africa

EU and IFAD Partnership for Southern African Horticulture

On October 8, 2026, the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) officially launched the ATHAZ program, a €14 million initiative designed to advance climate-resilient horticulture across Southern Africa.

Funded by the EU and coordinated by IFAD, the program focuses on three Southern African countries: Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana. The initiative is structured to direct resources toward supporting smallholder horticulture in the region, operating over a multi-year timeframe spanning from 2026 through 2030.

Scope and Beneficiary Targets

The ATHAZ program is specifically designed to engage smallholder producers. Across its operational window between 2026 and 2030, the project targets reaching approximately 15,000 smallholder farming households.

This target coverage represents approximately 75,000 individuals across the participating territories of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana, addressing the smallholder demographic central to local horticulture production.

Key Agroecological Interventions and Value Chain Support

Programmatically, ATHAZ focuses on deploying climate-smart, agroecological solutions tailored to the production challenges faced by smallholders. Key areas of focus include:

• Efficient water use techniques to enhance water management in farming operations.
• Development and adoption of resilient seed systems.
• Implementation of integrated pest management practices.
• Strengthening agricultural market value chains to support commercialization and market resilience for smallholder produce.

Establishment of Regional Innovation Hubs

To facilitate implementation and adoption, the ATHAZ initiative will establish nine dedicated "innovation hubs" distributed across Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana.

These innovation hubs will serve as centers to test and share practical, agroecological farming solutions directly with producers, underpinning the wider rollout of resilient horticultural practices throughout the three partner nations.