SOUTH FARMERS ENGAGE IN VIABLE MILK

Milking is one of the viable enterprises farmers ought to engage in because of its tangible benefits. For insights, read the article on how small-scale farmers have taken to milking as a profitable enterprise.Here is the link:http://www.times.co.zm/?p=50669

AGRO BODY TIPS FARMERS

Small-scale farmers called upon to focus on commodities that have a readily available market. For details here is the link for the article:http://www.times.co.zm/?p=51823

MATCHING GRANT BOOSTS MUSHROOM GROWING IN LIVINGSTONE

This article looks at a mushroom growing group in Livingstone. The group became successful after accessing funds under the matching grant facility to boost its mushroom production. For further detail, here is a link for the entire article:https://www.times.co.zm/?p=37588

MECHANISED FARMING STILL A CHALLENGE FOR SMEs

This article focuses on mechanised farming and its daunting challenges in terms of farmers access to finance. You can read the whole article on this link: http://www.times.co.zm/?p=27612

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.