GOVERNMENT in partnership with CARE International Zambia has created 1,198 Farmer Producer Groups with a membership of 17,006 across four districts in Southern Province to promote food security.
CARE International Zambia Project Manager Brian Kafula says the farmer groups are dotted in 20 Agricultural Blocks covering 134 Agricultural Camps in Monze, Choma, Kalomo, and Zimba.
Mr Kafula was speaking during the National and Provincial Joint Monitoring in Farmer Field Business Schools (FFBS) Learning field visit in Kalomo. He further stated that farmers have also been supported with seed for cowpeas, groundnuts, maize, and sunflower to improve their livelihoods and promote sustainable development.
Mr Kafula said the FFBS Project is an integrated approach that promotes agricultural sensitive interventions that combines components that deal with nutrition, and promoting cooking demonstrations for food utilization.
He named the other sensitive interventions as Post-harvest loss management, Food processing and preservation, Marketing, Monitoring and Evaluation, systems strengthening and advocacy.
Mr Kafula reaffirmed that the Project seeks to build farmers’ resilience to climate change through the Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS) approach.
He explained that Farmer Field Business Schools are hands on learning by doing approach where a group of farmers meet during the cropping season or livestock season to learn about new agricultural technologies.
“Each Farmer Producer Group in a Farmer Field Business School should have 15 to 30 members who are members from the village savings and lending association, Cooperatives, and other Farmer Producer Groups,” Mr Kafula said.
Mr Kafula clarified that for a group to qualify as a Farmer Field Business School it should have members, a demonstration plot, a facilitator, a curriculum or a manual, and a seasonal calendar.
He further stressed that so far the project is promoting four groups of various crop value chains that includes maize, cowpeas, groundnuts, and Sunflower.
“The project started in May 2024 and will run up to 30th April 2026. FFBS is riding on the Farmer Field Business Schools that were implemented by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations for the past years. The project is supposed to form about 1,608 farmer producer groups,” he said.
And Southern Province Agricultural Coordinator Alfred Sianjase has implored CARE International Zambia to continue partnering with government in ensuring that farmers have food and nutritional security in the operational districts.Mr Sianjase says once farmers are food secure and increase crop production the agriculture sector will further increase its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.
He said the Agricultural Sector has great potential to contributing towards the Gross Domestic Product of the Country.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Agriculture Principal Extension Methodologist Monica Mulenga says the Farmer Field Business Schools have improved the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Ms Mulenga implored other farmers who are not part of the Farmer Field Business Schools to join so as to make their farming activities as a business and improve their welfare.
She called on farmers to embrace the activities undertaken by CARE International Zambia in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure food security.
Ms Mulenga observed that from the Interactions with farmers in the Famer Field Business Schools they have improved in the levels of production and incomes.
“Climate Smart Agriculture that incorporates crop rotation, and ripping among others has contributed to an increase in their (farmers) production,” Ms Mulenga explained.
Ms Mulenga named the other activities that have contributed to increase in access to income by farmers as Village Banking and embracing of other value addition activities so that they do not only end at production.
Ministry of Agriculture Principal Food Utilisation and Nutrition Officer Nancy Chella reaffirmed continued collaboration with CARE International Zambia in promoting nutrition among smallholder farmers.
Ms Chella clarified that integration of nutrition in agricultural activities is one way of fighting malnutrition and through production of different food farmers will have access various types of foods. She asserted that no one type of food can contain all the nutrients hence the diversification campaign by both Ministry of Agriculture and CARE International Zambia for farmers to grow diverse foods.
Ms Chella said as farmers grow different foods they will obtain different nutrients from the various crops grown in their fields.
Mary Muleya, a beneficiary farmer in Kalomo says from the sensitive interventions from CARE International Zambia her livelihood has improved.
Ms Muleya noted that she has been able to buy cattle, and sheep for rearing as she is now planning to buy a car to use as she conducts her business. The interventions by CARE International Zambia are expected to contribute to Zambia’s target of producing 10 million metric tonnes of Maize by 2027.-NAIS
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