The US Government says that Small-scale farmers in Zambia are now benefiting from new techniques to promote sustainable farming to boost harvests of various agricultural products.
Acting USAID Country Director, Thomas Crubaugh said Zambian Small Scale farmers are using knowledge gained from an agro partnership to boost harvests for crops such as maize, sweet potatoes, and groundnuts.
Mr. Crubaugh said the US government has invested over $1.7 million for research and development in the Africa Rising Project to provide pathways out of hunger and poverty for small-scale farmers in Eastern Province.
He said under the Africa Rising Activity Project, in partnership with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), international agricultural researchers, and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID), small scale farmers will improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for women-led farming households.
“We believe that the innovations developed under Africa RISING can uplift communities and countries, and place them on a path where external assistance is no longer required,” said Mr. Crubaugh
The USAID Director said Africa Rising is a product of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future Initiative and Global Food Security Strategy.
The Africa Rising activity has worked to encourage local solutions to Zambia’s needs and strengthened the capacity of ZARI to increase farm productivity through low-cost and improved technologies, including high-nutrient crops.
The partnership has identified more than 25 new technologies that have significantly increased the productivity of Zambia’s maize, groundnut, soybean, cassava, and cowpea value chains.
Among the innovations is the production of Vitamin A-fortified orange maize and orange-fleshed sweet potato, new varieties of drought- and disease-tolerant groundnuts, soybeans, and many low-cost, efficient crop-production systems.
Mr. Crubaugh disclosed that the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) has approved and registered the bio-pesticide “Aflasafe,” paving the way for greater commercialization of maize and groundnuts through more effective control of aflatoxins.
The Africa Rising activity also focuses on conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources, while identifying and implementing technologies to increase small-scale farmer agricultural productivity.
Let’s develop this thing! it is UNELECTABLE.
Who? you mean KBF?
Choose KBF, he will gather a better rally with better musicians not your General Kanene.
I only hope this does not translate into genetically modified food for our people. Agricultural institutions in Africa should beware of ulterior motives of western agro-giants like Monsanto who come in the name of helping farmers but are only interested in attaining global food monopoly status.
Must we rely on foreign aid /handouts for everything in Zambia ?