ABOUT five million households in different parts of the country are expected to benefit from the Presidential Rural Poultry and Goat Pass-On scheme that will see the Government dishing out goats and chicks to empower rural families.

Beneficiaries will receive the goats and poultry for free, but will be expected to pass-on to the next recipients when the breeds give birth.

Initially, the poultry programme will target households in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Masvingo and Midlands provinces where 1,8 million households are expected to benefit from this year to 2025.

The Goat Pass-On scheme is expected to uplift the rural folk in all the country’s eight rural provinces with three million households expected to benefit from this year until 2025.

Under the poultry scheme, the Government has deliberately targeted the four southern provinces to mitigate against the impact of climate change, because parts of these areas traditionallyreceive low rains.

In an interview, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr John Basera, said the two schemes are funded by President Mnangagwa.

“I think you have noticed that this is a Presidential Scheme funded by His Excellency President Mnangagwa. It’s a subsidised scheme. We have deliberately started with the southern part of the country because these are provinces which receive little rain. Livestock thrives in these provinces. However, we are not leaving Mashonaland provinces outside, they will also be catered for as we go,” Dr Basera said.

-State Media