Paul Zakariya is a passionate community and rural development practitioner. He is an ardent proponent of pro-poor inclusive approaches to development and the empowerment of marginalized communities. He has worked with various Zimbabwean and international development organizations in Zimbabwe to build sustainable livelihoods.
Over the last 21 years, Paul has gathered a wealth of experience working with rural communities and smallholder farmers. He helped to develop sustainable models for market linkages in the northern region of Zimbabwe, where rural incomes were significantly improved. With a banking background, in collaboration with other stakeholders, he assisted farming communities in establishing sustainable input and output markets, which structures have been used as models for initiating rural agro-enterprises.
In his capacity as the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union, Paul is fulfilling his passion for business by infusing, through various programs and projects, the all important aspect of "farming as a business". With support from the qualified and dedicated ZFU staff countrywide, Paul is encouraging the formation of networks at regional and national levels, to facilitate the opening up of opportunities for business growth and equity in agriculture.
Paul holds a Masters Degree in Business Leadership