IAPRI BUDGET ANALYSIS

By HAPPY MULOLANI The Institute of Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) says the agricultural budget has declined by 25 percent due to the debt burden which is impacting on public spending. IAPRI Associate Researcher Auckland Kuteya says the cost of servicing debt in 2020 is higher resulting in reductions in allocations directed to different sectors of the economy. Mr. Kuteya asserts that what needs to be taken into account is “how to achieve more with less”. Mr. Kuteya said, “the President His Excellency President Edgar Lungu has acknowledged that agriculture is threatened by climate change, it is for this reason that the budget seeks to look at key drivers of the economy.” Currently, 97.9million has been allocated to extension services in order to support the adoption of climate smart agriculture practices. Mr Kuteya observes the need to re-think the timely release of funds to key drivers of the economy to effectively support and implement the key drivers of the economy. He noted that the delayed release of funds is an impediment to the implementation of activities as evidenced in the past year. Meanwhile, Mr Kuteya welcomes government’s restriction to only purchase 300 strategic food reserves to avoid gobbling a lot of allocated funds, noting that government’s spending on poverty reduction programmes such as FISP and FRA has not yielded positive results. He was speaking during a media breakfast budget analysis at Radisson Blu in Lusaka recently. The meeting drew stakeholders in the agricultural sector such as Millers Association of Zambia, Grain Traders Association, National Small-Scale farmers Association, Veterinary Association of Zambia, among others. And IAPRI Outreach Director Ballad Zulu says though limited funds were allocated to research, some strides have been scored with developing of hybrid varieties which are resilient to the negative effects of climate change. “For instance, cassava varieties at the time used to mature in three years but other varieties that have been developed through research maturing in six months have been developed. These varieties have contributed to improved food security among smallholder farmers”, said Mr. Zulu. Speaking at the same event, Millers Association of Zambia Andrew Chitala says the government needs to re-think how best the mealie meal situation is dealt with given the present dynamics of the economy in the country. The budget analysis comes in the wake of the 2020 budget presentation made by Finance Minister Dr Bwalya Ngandu in Parliament recently. Dr Ngandu unveiled the 2020 budget which reflects 52% personal emoluments to the civil service, 43% of loan repayments and 7% directed towards key drivers of the economy.

DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION FARMING IN MUSAKASHI

By HAPPY MULOLANI Irrigation farming is one of the priorities of the Government of Zambia. According to the Seventh National Development Plan, 2017-2021, Government has reiterated its commitment to ensure water resources are properly harnessed, developed and managed in order to enhance socio-economic development. Despite Zambia being endowed with abundant water resources, its uptake remains very low. This is confirmed by Southern African Development Community (SADC), which notes irrigated land presently stands at 7 percent of available irrigable land, as opposed to 70 percent in developed nations. In Zambia, the irrigable potential is 400,000 ha of which only about 100,000 ha is being irrigated. Thus, government endeavours to empower rural livelihoods through irrigable and improved food security and increased income. As such, Government of Zambia partnered with the International Development Association (IDA) under the World Bank to finance bulk water irrigation infrastructure development under the Irrigation Development Support Project (IDSP). IDSP is an irrigation infrastructure Development project under the Ministry of Agriculture valued at a cost of US$115million. The Government of Zambia contributed US$23million towards the implementation of the programme which began in 2011. This initiative is in line with the National Irrigation policy. The initial objective of IDSP is to increase yields per hectare and value of diverse products marketed by smallholders benefitting from investments in irrigation in selected project sites. However, Ministry of Agriculture Technical Services Branch Deputy Director Stanslous Chisakuta, explains after evaluation of the attainment of the programme’s objective to achievable benchmarks, the objective was revised as: “to provide improved access to irrigation services in selected sites in the recipient’s territory”. Mr. Chisakuta says the project is presently being implemented in three categories- group one sub-project sites of Lusitu in Chirundu in Lusaka province, Mwomboshi in Chisamba in Central province and Musakashi in Mufulira on the Copperbelt province. The project’s aim is meant to compensate people that have been re-located to identified areas and resettled. Against this backdrop, government identified Musakashi area, a rural outpost which lies 15 kilometres west of Mufulira district. It is bordered by Chambishi, Kalulushi, and Chingola respectively on the Copperbelt province. With 462 farmers, a number of significant features meant to operationalise Musakashi resettlement scheme are feasible. Musakashi District Liaison Officer Abraham Mulenga reveals 1, 200 hectares of land is being developed for irrigation purposes. The project has resettled individuals and also compensated some individuals who had title deeds under set criteria. Mr. Mulenga explains that the scheme will operate on the basis of a 3-tier system. Firstly, Tier 1 is meant for small-scale farmers who have been displaced and resettled in designated resettlement areas. Secondly, Tier 2 is a category for emergent farmers, cooperatives and farm companies. These entities can cultivate land ranging from five hectares to 15 hectares. And they can access this land by applying through the Musakashi Community Land Trust (CLT). Lastly, Tier 3 is meant for a commercial investor or any individuals with the capacity to utilize 700 hectares net irrigable which will be prepared by the project. The investor is expected to run the investment on a public private partnership for 25 years. The identified land under Tier 3 will be prepared by the project. Following the outlined 3 Tiers, Government and IDSP with support from the World Bank devised modalities of apportioning land to individuals through the Community Land Trust. Each resettled individual in the scheme has been allocated 2.5 hectares whereas individuals displaced with title deeds have been compensated and resettled. The project has constructed 113 houses at a value cost of K11, 318.105. These constructed housing units have enabled people in the area to have access to decent accommodation, of which some individuals never had prior to IDSP’s intervention. The scheme has three significant features which include pump house, fore bay and reservoir which is under construction and is expected to be complete by October this year. According to Mr. Mulenga, construction works of this multi million project valued at a cost of US$8.2 million also includes access roads. “Once construction works of the facility are launched, Musakashi farmers will be empowered as they will have access to irrigate various crops meant to improve their livelihoods,” says Mr. Mulenga. Musakashi Community Land Trust Secretary Elvis Mwansa describes how some individuals in the area resisted the resettlement programme during the inception meetings with IDSP project staff and Ministry of Agriculture staff. “At first when IDSP and government officers came to explain their intentions of resettling and compensating people in the area in order to create an irrigation scheme, some people were skeptical. Some even left Musakashi to other areas,” says Mr. Mwansa. However, Community Land Trust member Getrude Namenda says most people started believing what the project had promised when they saw houses being constructed and people resettled as well as those who had title deeds compensated. At this point, some people who had even left the area, decided to come back in order to benefit from the programme. Mrs. Namenda is of the view the success of the resettling programme is based on transparency of administering land through the Community Land Trust in Musakashi. “There was no discrimination in the way people were resettled and compensated in Musakashi. That is way most people welcomed the whole idea especially after all the construction works became feasible,” says Mrs. Namenda. As she observes people are now united after successfully completing the resettlement programme. What has also encouraged most farmers in the area is the manner in which allocation of land has been effected with less hurdles. As IDSP Safeguard Specialist Moono Kanjelesa reveals all the identified land for the scheme was state land. This land was all brought together after undergoing through the process of identification. The identification of eligible individuals affected was done through the Community Land Trust (CLT). “CLTs mandate has played a critical role in ensuring land is rightfully apportioned to affected beneficiaries,” says Mrs. Kanjelesa. She points out that project staff and Ministry of Agriculture staff are ex-officials whose role is merely to provide guidance. This approach enables CLTs to rightly fully identify people that need to be compensated and resettled within the scheme because communities know themselves and are likely to be more transparent in terms of who rightly benefits from acquiring land under the resettlement scheme. This approach applies to all other resettlement schemes – Lusitu and Mwomboshi in Chirundu and Chisamba respectively. One of the unique features of this land in the scheme is that farmers have security through title deeds to their individual apportioned land. Their individual title deeds fall under the parent title deed. “Title deeds are a form of security which guarantees a sense of ownership of land,” says Mrs. Kanjelesa. With all these strides, farmers remain optimistic to participate in the different agriculture activities which are aimed at improving their household food security and increased income. It is envisaged IDSP’s strides aimed at empowering farmers through irrigation farming will bear fruit once the scheme is fully functional and that farmers will utilise their allocated land productively to improve their livelihoods.

IDSP BUILDS CAPACITY IN MUSAKASI FARMERS

By HAPPY MULOLANI Since government’s prioritizing the agriculture sector, there have been a number of interventions aimed at promoting the adoption of technologies by small-scale farmers through increased food security and income. This is eminent through government’s effort of promoting irrigation farming through Irrigation Development Support Programme (IDSP), a programme supported by World Bank among small-scale farmers in Musakashi resettlement scheme in Mufulira. The resettlement scheme is expected to become fully functional once the construction works of the multi-million dollar irrigation facility is complete in October this year. But, one source of concern is sustainability of the progamme once IDSP phases out. Admittedly, most projects which have come on board to provide interventions in the agriculture sector meant to upscale food security and increased incomes of small-scale farmers have become white elephants after their completion. This trend is attributed to lack of proper mechanisms when projects phase-out that ensure sustainability. With this concern in mind, the project has exposed farmers to a number of trainings and exposure visits in order to draw vital lessons from some of the best practices and success stories in other countries where irrigation farming has been intensified and farmers have excelled in their farming enterprises. On this premise, IDSP’s approach has been to build capacity in farmers through trainings and exposure visits. Through these trainings and exposure visits, farmers have been equipped with appropriate knowledge to apply in their farming enterprises. Musakashi Community Land Trust Secretary Elvis Mwansa cites a trip that IDSP sponsored for identified small-scale farmers in Musakashi to Swaziland. The farmers learnt how farmers in that country had taken farming as a business and were successful in their various farming enterprises. “In Swaziland, I met farmers who had been become rich just by practicing irrigation farming. That is when I got motivated to embark on irrigation farming given the abundant arable land which we possess in Musakashi,” says Mr. Mwansa. He points out the project’s approach of exposing farmers in Musakashi to trainings and exposure visits has not only been an eye-opener but also given them ideas to explore a lot of avenues to sustain their livelihoods. “The trainings have had a positive impact in our farming enterprises as we have been able to identify profitable crops such as cabbage, egg plants and other products to supply the readily available market,” said Mr. Mwansa. He says the exposure visits and trainings have contributed to a change of mind-set among most small-scale farmers to not only venture into agriculture for food security purposes but to seriously take farming as a business and realize an income for their households. Grievance Committee member Alice Mukwata echoes similar sentiments that the trainings in market research are an eye-opener to potential products and markets. “Empowering us with skills on how to identify market linkages with food chain stores like Food Lovers, Shoprite and Pick and Pay among others is beneficial to us because it gives ideas of the demands of the market”, Mrs. Mukwata. Musakashi District Liaison Officer Abraham Mulenga says farmers business trainings has resulted in establishing linkages with potential markets –both locally and beyond the borders such as Kasumbalesa. Mr. Mulenga says farmers have been equipped with skills on how to conduct market research. The acquired skills allow farmers to position themselves as they assess specific valuable crops with a readily available market. “Market research skills have compelled farmers to grow only crops which are viable for the market and targeted at specific buyers on the market, as doing so will prevent crop losses” he says. And Committee Land Trust Chairperson Stanford Nyendwa revealed that ever since government resettled and compensated some farmers in Musakasi area, they have been empowered with knowledge on irrigation farming which is useful and will ensure they make profits once the scheme is operationalised. “Irrigation farming has helped us realize that there are a lot of farming enterprises we can engage ourselves such as cabbage production. Such enterprises are bearing fruit as they are contributing to increased food security and incomes in our community” said Mr. Nyendwa. These trainings have potentially exposed farmers to other successful farmers. This positions farmers’ to come up with strategies aimed at making irrigation farming profitable. Mr. Nyendwa reveals it is unique for farmers to undertake market surveys by themselves. It allows them to see the viability of specific crops on the market before in engaging in irrigation farming. This enables them to ascertaining what crops to grow in their irrigation agriculture activities. “As farmers, we are not dependent on experts or agriculture or project staff doing market surveys for us because they have equipped us with knowledge and skills on how to conduct market surveys after undergoing trainings,” says Mr. Nyendwa. IDSP Economist Michael Kabwe says the programme has allowed farmers to not only go on such exposure visits internationally to draw on lessons and best practices of what other farmers have achieved in their farming enterprises. But also enables them implement sustainable practices within their local farming context. Mr. Kabwe explains that IDSP is also offering support through matching grants to farmers in tier 1 and tier 2, whereas tier 3 is a commercially viable category which will ensure the promotion of out-grower schemes among the smallholder farmers. Matching grants are meant to provide financing for farmers on farm implements such as equipment. The grants are co-financed with beneficiaries. Matching grants fall into five categories. Firstly, on farm irrigation equipment such as sprinklers, dip, centre pivotal among others. Secondly, aquaculture post harvest mechanization equipping farmers with tractors, ploughs, storage. This equipment is meant to avert post harvest losses. Thirdly, funds are provided for non-traditional production such as biogas production, production of biofuel among others. Fourth, seed working capital. This refers to start-up capital meant to assist acquire inputs, fertilizer, and pesticides. And lastly, matching grants for marginalized groups which require support. This category is considered as specialized financing for women and vulnerable people. The fund covers this category 100 percent as long as it is an identified need. Such financing of these different categories being offered to small-scale farmers will commence once the schemes are fully operational. Through matching grants, it is hoped the low uptake of irrigation farming among small-scale farmers will be enhanced as the facility is expected to adequately support them engage in their farming enterprises. IDSP’s support towards small-scale farmers through trainings and exposure visits is tailored towards re-thinking the sustenance of farmers’ enterprises. It is envisaged that as the programme phases out, farmers will be able to continue to sustain their farming enterprises through irrigation farming.

E-SAPP/CIAT PARTNERSHIP IN CLIMATE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

By HAPPY MULOLANI In Zambia, the agriculture sector is one of the key productive sectors. As a result, government has prioritized the sector through national development plans such as the Seventh National Development Plan, among others, which outlines its key priorities envisaged for the country to attain economic growth. But, climate change is one of the concerns likely to impact on the success of the agriculture sector in the country. Through intervention programmes such as the Enhanced Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme (E-SAPP), government has reaffirmed its committment by implementing E-SAPP with co-funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The programme, which runs for seven years, aims to support 61,000 smallholder farmers in all ten provinces. E-SAPP has selected four commodities of focus. These include livestock, rice, crops and aquaculture. In a recent meeting in Lusaka, on climate change which looked at climate vulnerability assessment for enhanced smallholder agribusiness promotion programme. The meeting drew participants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and key stakeholders engaged in the fight against climate change. It focused on climate analysis specifically on the historic and future trends in the Zambian context. Enhanced Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme (E-SAPP) Acting Programme Coordinator Emmanuel Mulenga points out that the programme has no geographical positioning per se but is existent in all the ten provinces across the selected commodities of focus. Mr Mulenga explains that the programme has taken into account establishing sustainable agribusiness partnerships to better position and support smallholder farmers in their farming enterprises. This strategic linkage focuses on graduating subsistence farmers to potential markets. He says the programme builds capacity and equips smallholder farmers with knowledge. But, the point of realization is that knowledge alone is not adequate. This is the more reason, the programme seeks to provide matching grants as an effective avenue to effectively support and empower farmers as a means of investment. Mr Mulenga highlights the first component of the programme which promotes agribusiness growth for beneficiary farmers to effectively participate in the value chain, under the National Development agribusiness intervention for the country. He observes that while the programme has conceptualized a well defined target of farmers within the specific value chains, achieving the programme’s goals of increased volumes, food security and nutrition and income may have serious implications in view of the climatic changes. For this reason, E-SAPP has partnered with International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). CIAT works to increase prosperity and improve human nutrition through research-based interventions agriculture and the environment. It works in Africa, Asia and Latin America. One of its thematic areas which is key to its partnership with E-SAPP is investment planning for resilient agriculture and the leveraging of markets through improved productivity and `competitive (CIAT Africa Factsheet, 2019). In this respect, CIAT’s partnership with E-SAPP aims at strengthening its agribusiness intervention. Mr Mulenga explains that CIAT role is key in assessing the risks in line with climate change and ensures they provide interventions that assure farmers to achieve increased volumes and food production. And speaking on behalf of Ministry of Agriculture Director Policy and Planning John Kalumbi, Christopher Mbewe says that it is important for E-SAPP which is a programme the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing with IFAD’s support to be wary of the effects of climate change as farmers engage in their respective commodities of focus. “The importance of this partnership will enable farmers to be supported in coming up with feasible interventions that will positively impact on the farmers’ commodities of focus”, says Mr Kalumbi. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) County Director Joseph Mulambu says more sensitization is required to farmers on the adaptive mechanisms given the effects of climate change. “Climate change may affect farmers’ progress in their commodities of focus if proper mechanisms are not effected”, says Mr Mulambu. Mr Mulambu points out though it is clear that the effects of climate change are more pronounced in the Southern than the Northern and Eastern provinces of Zambia, farmers cannot be convinced to shift. This is because cultural barriers are difficult to break. On the contrary, what is required is to look at the vulnerability map and tailor more support towards areas severely affected by climate change. While CIAT Farming Systems and Climate Change Scientist Caroline Mwongera says climate change has its own merits and demerits depending on the circumstances. “The face of climate change has its own implications for the future, the key factors to consider is risk, suitability and sensitivity of specific crops. For instance, certain crops will thrive in particular localities depending on the risks, sensitivity and suitability experienced in specific areas. This trend is currently being experienced in East Africa, where there has been a shift to growing coffee in the northern parts which was not the case before”, says Dr Mwongera. Given the risk climate change poses, there is need to re-think adaption options based on context specific conditions as that would help mitigate the effects of climate change within the value chain the smallholder farmers are engaged in. And United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Goalkeeper David Mwabila is of the view adaptive measures need to cater for all parts of the country. Mr Mwabila explains that adaptive measures calls for taking into account of risks synonymous with every province. This should be a basis of putting in place adaptive measures in areas more prone to climatic risks. “Certain provinces that are more prone to climatic risks in agriculture production need more support and expertises to be directed towards them, in order for them to cope with the effects of climate change”, he said. From the foregoing sentiments from various stakeholders and actors, it is encouraging that government has put in place policies to help mitigate the prevailing effects of climate change. More importantly, there is need to re-think appropriate adaptation options to allow farmers cope in their farming enterprises. Suffice to state that though they are present on-going adaptation options, it is key to look at potential adaptation options which facilitate the possibility of farmers adopting climate resilience practices. Such an approach allows smallholder farmers to progress in their commodities of focus and ultimately contribute to food security.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN AGRICULTURE (AGRI-PPPs)

By HAPPY MULOLANI Calls for innovative partnerships aimed at bringing together actors such as business, government, smallholder farmers and civil society have come to the fore. This is in response to limited government resources and expertise. This approach of bringing together these actors is a well orchestrated mechanism with a view to improve productivity and foster growth in various sectors, referred to as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Through such initiatives, the possibilities of contributing to transform the agriculture sector and heightened multiple benefits are expected to assist in pursuing sustainable agricultural development which includes smallholder farmers. With respect to enhancing agriculture development, PPPs are much focused on responding to food security, wealth creation and the viability of rural areas. Agri-PPPs also have the capacity to not only “leverage finances, share risks fairly, develop innovations but also create market access for all players” (MAL Concept Note, 2019). However, Agri-PPP is often deemed to be externally positioned in the context of the conventional institutional framework for PPP governance. Agri-PPP naturally consists of lower scale of investment, multi-stakeholder involvement, and largely puts emphasis on social objectives such as food security and poverty reduction (MOA Concept Note, 2019). The foregoing has presented some challenges implementing the Agri-PPPs due to lack of clear guidelines and regulations to enable contracting authorities and the private sector have specific focus. Further, the present existing institutional set-up for PPPs mostly focus on infrastructure projects, which are characterized by a larger scale of capital investments, commercial risk and contractual arrangements which are different from most common types of Agri-PPPs (FAO, 2016). This status quo has culminated in a series of appraisals and discussions in scaling up appropriate interventions aimed at supporting the agriculture sector through the Agri-PPPs in order to enhance development. This has led to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Union (AU) to spearhead the formulation of guidelines and regulations which support agriculture development in the Zambian context in August, this year. In a recent, multistakeholder meeting to formulate guidelines for Agri-PPPs in Zambia, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Country Representative George Okech observes that despite the opportunities the agriculture sector presents, it still remains unattractive to the private sector investors and financial institutions for varied reasons. Mr. Okech cites some of the constraints such as low volumes and inconsistent quality of produce, lack of business and technical skills which has also resulted in limiting access to supportive services such as finance and advisory, limitations of access to domestic and regional markets, low adoption of modern technology and lack of consistent policies which govern the agricultural sector. However, he expresses optimism that the role of private sector in agricultural transformation is key as it continues to complement the existing public sector efforts, specifically to enhance development of strategic agricultural value chains, both at national and regional levels. For this reason, the public sector needs to re-position itself by creating and maintaining conditions that favour investments in agribusiness and agro-industries by the private sector. “PPPs are a significant mechanism for attracting investment and technical expertise and have the potential to transform the agricultural sector and deliver multiple benefits that can contribute towards the pursuit of inclusive agricultural development,” retaliates Mr. Okech. And FAO Agribusiness Officer Stepanka Gallatova based in Rome shares her sentiments that there is a lot of interest generated around PPPs not only in Africa but globally. It seems as a mechanism for agriculture. This is premised on the fact that over 60 percent of sub-Saharan African countries depend on agriculture for their income and employment, mainly in small-scale farming. Ms Gallatova explains that bodies such as Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and Malabo declaration have all focused on transformation of the agriculture sector on the African agenda, which is as a result of the many opportunities the sector presents to its populace. “Transformation of the African agriculture sector is important but needs huge injection of funds. Clearly the public sector needs to be supported because they cannot do it by themselves, which is why PPPs are key to sustain the process,” says Ms Gallatova. Ms Gallatova reveals that over 11million youths who join the job market each year are likely to be absorbed by the agriculture given the opportunities the sector presents. Due to these constraints, there is limited investment, agricultural value chains are not operating at optimum efficiency due to poor infrastructure, lack of appropriate technology and limited market access. Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Songowayo Zyambo highlights the importance of transforming the agriculture sector through the Agri-PPPs. He says the need to adopt best practices is key in ensuring productivity among smallholder farmers. And Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Permanent Secretary Benson Mwenya says PPPs need to re-look at the private sector supporting the public sector. He cites government’s development of aquaculture parks as one of the investments that the private sector needs to support if they are to be viable. And Technical Working Group lead Christopher Mbewe says identified partnerships which include private, public and joint partnerships need to be supported by the national agriculture policies. “Though Zambia has a national PPP Act, but it focuses more on a large scale infrastructure PPPs. Instead, this notion has to include specificities of PPPs in the agriculture sector,” says Mr. Mbewe. He noted that critical aspects such as institutional arrangements, the provision of equity and acting as guarantors is important in ensuring that risks are taken care of. Mr. Mbewe observes the need for government to provide an enabling environment by ensuring that proper policies are put in place. “The Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock needs to be seriously considered if identified Agri-PPPs are to succeed in the Zambian context,” he says. And National Small-Scale Farmers Union President Frank Kayula says the concept of Agri-PPPs is pivotal to improving productivity and fostering growth if key stakeholders properly target specific value chain commodities which can contribute to economic growth. Given the critical role which government is mandated to implement the national agriculture policies, Agri-PPPs have come at a time when the necessity for supporting smallholder farmers is evitable if the targeted enterprises within the agriculture sector are to be sustained. Clearly, Agri-PPPs if properly implemented and supported will not only result in sustained efforts that empower smallholder farmers to be viable but also improve extension services and create market linkages within identified value chains. In this way, the envisaged goals and priorities will ultimately contribute to agriculture development and growth of the economy.

GIZ EMPOWERS SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN EASTERN PROVINCE

By HAPPY MULOLANI Food security is one of the concerns among smallholder farmers which tend to have adverse effects on rural farming households. This is attributed to lack of knowledge on appropriate methods of producing food. To address this dilemma, government has reaffirmed its committment through the Seventh National Development to increase food production by increasing productivity and nutrition at household level. To achieve this goal, government has partnered with cooperating partners such as the Germany government (GIZ). Government’s partnership with GIZ through the AgriFood programme under Food and Nutrition Security, Enhanced project (FANSER) is aimed at enhancing smallholder and strengthen resilience in view of climate change through improving agriculture and food security of households in Katete and Petauke districts in Eastern province. The project is working to empower 56, 000 households. This partnership has enabled key stakeholders to come on board to contribute towards improving rural livelihoods. To this end, FANSER is collaborating with other partners such as the National Food and Nutrition Commission and Catholic Relief Services, among others in the implementation of this project. With this in mind, GIZ and various partners have developed appropriate materials meant to empower and equip farmers with vital information to enable farmers grow crops that are resilient to the devastating effects of climate change. GIZ Agriculture and Food Security Programme Coordinator Moritz Heldmann says developing training materials for use in identified training sites is an ideal avenue in building the farmers’ capacities in their different farming enterprises. “These training materials are to be disseminated to the district agriculture staff in Eastern province and will be utilized to build the required capacity of extension staff and the targeted households”, says Mr. Heldmann He asserts that development and distribution of the materials through extension services will greatly contribute to the development of the agriculture sector as stipulated in the Second National Agriculture Policy through objective seven which focuses on “improving food and nutrition security.” Mr. Heldmann explains that the Keyhole Garden manual has a number of benefits for households. Firstly, they are less labour intensive. Secondly, they are cheaper and easy to build using locally available materials. And thirdly, they consume less water as compared to a normal home garden. He points out that while these legume training manuals are able to translate into increased household diversification, they also contribute to improved nutrition of the beneficiary groups. It is envisaged these interventions will contribute to improved food and nutrition security of the farmers and overall status of the country’s food security levels. The programme has produced materials on Keyhole Garden and beans and cowpeas as the key intervention areas of focus under the programme. The following are the materials produced in English and also translated in specific vernacular languages. 1,000 booklets on Keyhole garden and 2,400 training flip charts while beans and cowpeas translated booklets in Nyanja are 15,000, 6,000 booklets in English and 2,400 training flip charts. Although language can be a limiting factor to some farmers in accessing knowledge in their farming enterprises of interest, GIZ intends to support the translation of these manuals and booklets into other Zambian vernacular languages. “Translations in other languages is also a priority, which the programme plans to undertake in order to reach out to a wider range of smallholder farmers and households”, acknowledges Mr. Heldmann. He also reveals that GIZ is likely to scale-up interventions by extending to Luapula province. This pilot project is expected to target approximately 16,000 smallholder farmers. And Department of Agriculture Deputy Director Charles Sondashi appreciates government’s collaboration with GIZ noting that the production of the materials is one of the key outputs. Mr. Sondashi is elated with the efforts of GIZ and Ministry of Agriculture staff involved in the preparation and ultimate production of the materials. He explains that the provision of the materials will assist in creating awareness among the target farmers and is particularly thankful for making translations that will enable a wider range of farmers’ accessibility to vital information on the food crops. “The materials will also empower farmers with knowledge that they can use as they engage in their various farming activities,” says Mr. Sondashi. And Principal Food and Nutrition Officer Nancy Chella is of the view that the provision of the books and manuals will help in scaling up the farmers food production and also improve their nutritional status. “The significance of this collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and GIZ has resulted in the developing of manuals and booklets, meant to equip farmers with knowledge in order to boost their food production and nutrition”, says Mrs. Chella. Such an initiative is a milestone effort intended to improve smallholder farmers’ food production and nutrition. While GIZ has made tremendous headways in supporting and contributing towards food security, what is required is for more stakeholders to take a proactive approach in supplementing government, GIZ and other collaborating stakeholders efforts already involved in enhancing food security. Such an approach will result in concerted efforts leading to increased food production and nutrition among smallholder farmers. Clearly, government has put in place policies to facilitate and support the increase of food production of smallholder farmers. This is premised on the understanding that policies alone are not adequate without any tangible support. As a consequence, GIZ’s support towards smallholder farmers through the provision of materials will ensure an increased knowledge base in the type of crops grown and also increased food production and nutrition as enshrined in the national development plans, which is a roadmap the country strives to achieve.