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Rice 
is becoming an important crop for Zambia since consumption is rapidly increasing, particularly in urban areas. The domestic production is 29,600 tons, which covers only half of the domestic demand (FAO2019), and the shortfall is imported from neighbor countries and Asia. To enhance food security, the government positions rice as an important cash crop and a strategic crop for “Crop Diversification”, aiming at diversifying the cropping system that is extremely dependent on maize.
Market Oriented Rice Development project (MOReDeP) is a project jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Zambia (MoA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with an objective to promote rice cultivation as a cash crop in Zambia. It is expected to contribute to increasing the domestic rice production and supporting the government’s policy on the crop diversification. For this purpose, MOReDeP mainly conducts 1) researching and developing rice cultivation techniques that are flexible and favorable to various ecologies in Zambia, 2) formulating “Rice Clusters” while conducting extension activities to spread the use of the techniques across farmers, and 3) enhancing farmers’ knowledge and business skills to improve their income by selling produced rice.
Higher Productivity
is the focus of the activity. The productivity of rice production in Zambia is 1.20 ton/ha (FAO2019), which is quite low, even comparing to other African countries not very actively producing rice[*]. Low productivity is not because the natural environment is not suitable for rice production. The basic cultivation and harvest/post-harvest processing techniques practiced by farmers are the problem. For the improvement of productivity, while supporting the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) and developing its rice research capacity, MOReDeP researches to find solutions to the problems and develops a rice production techniques package that is flexible and favorable to the various ecologies in Zambia. The main research themes include cultivation technology, harvest/post harvest, seed production, mechanization and variety/breeding.
[*] The productivity of rice production in Africa region is 2.27 ton/ha. Kennya is 6.84 ton/ha, which is the highest in the Africa region (FAO2019).
Effective Extension
will be realized by the “Rice Cluster” approach. To increase total rice production in Zambia, it is crucial not only to improve the productivity but also increase the number of rice farmers and extend the rice cultivation area. MOReDeP conducts extension activities through the “Rice Cluster Approach”, aiming at not only spreading the use of the techniques but also forming new rice production districts – “rice clusters“. This does not simply mean a group of rice farmers, but it refers to an economic block formed around rice. In addition to technical training sessions on the developed technique package for existing farmers and those who may start rice cultivation, MOReDeP supports the formation and development of rice clusters through various activities including promoting learning and information sharing among farmers, making opportunities to attract new buyers (rice millers, traders, and consumers, etc.), and facilitating the interaction with farmers.
Better Profitability
is key to make rice an attractive crop for farmers so as to lead to further promotion of rice production. To ensure the income of each farmer actually increases along with the promotion of the rice production, MOReDeP develops a “Market-Oriented Rice Production Model” (MORiP /Rice SHEP model) under the theme of “rice production as a business” and promotes not “Grow AND Sell” but “Grow FOR Sell”. The project conducts activities to enhance farmers’ knowledge and business skills to improve their income. Moreover, it supports improvement of market access by rice farmers.
In Zambia Agriculture plays a key role of supporting industries by the production of the required raw materials , producing exportable agricultural goods, generating employment particularly in rural areas, as well as providing food stuffs essential for the sustenance of acceptable nutrition standards and levels.
Mulungushi House, Corner of Independence Avenue & Nationalist Rd
P o Box 50197 Lusaka, Zambia
Email: infor@agriculture.gov.zm
Phone number: +260211 254 645
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