USAID and Mercy Corps Launch the Elevate Project to Support Communities in Manicaland and Mashonaland East

February 23, 2023

Mercy Corps is pleased to announce the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded ELEVATE project. The one-year, US$3 million project will reach 27,844 food insecure households in Makoni and Mutasa districts, Manicaland province and Mutoko district, Mashonaland East province.

ELEVATE focuses on improving the immediate and long-term access and availability of food for vulnerable communities, helping communities cope, adapt, and thrive in the face of shocks and stresses. The project builds on decades of work between USAID and Mercy Corps across many countries to save lives and promote food and nutrition security.

ELEVATE’s agriculture interventions will work to strengthen household resilience to future shocks and stressors, including smallholder farmers.

The project will support farmers in adopting more productive and sustainable growing practices through training and assisting with agricultural inputs and irrigation support. In addition, ELEVATE will provide food assistance during the height of the lean season to the most vulnerable households to help reduce negative coping strategies that undermine food security.

Mercy Corps is implementing ELEVATE in close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare‘s Department of Social Development and the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. With USAID’s support Mercy Corps is putting resilience and inclusion at the core of its strategy to contribute to the well-being of Zimbabweans by building their capacity and strengthening households, systems, and local institutions. Since Zimbabwe’s independence, the American people, through USAID, have contributed over $4.2 billion in assistance to increase food security, support economic resilience, improve health outcomes, and promote democratic governance and inclusion.