3 MILLION FARMERS GET AU AGRO AID
MORE than three million farmers in Zambia are expected to benefit from African Union Development Agency (AUDA) climate smart agriculture programmes.
AUDA chief executive officer, Ibrahim Mayaki, said Zambian farmers would benefit from the programme during the first phase of implementation. This would be done through application of 17 different climate smart technologies and practices. He said this when Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Major General Jackson Miti paid a courtesy call on him at the AUDA-NEPAD offices in Midrand, South Africa. Dr Mayaki said the climate smart agriculture programme would be done through the mainstreaming of climate change into the Zambia’s Agricultural and food Security Investment Plan. He said a recent study that was undertaken in six African countries, showed that Zambia was one of the countries that needed to identify the most appropriate agriculture best practices towards adaptation to climate change. Dr Mayaki said his organisation had engaged government together with other key stakeholders in the development of fundable proposals for climate smart agriculture related interventions. He said Zambia had so far received support for mainstreaming of climate change and climate smart agriculture into its National Agriculture Investment Plan. And Gen Miti expressed confidence in the new structure of AUDA-NEPAD and the leadership of Dr Ibrahim Mayaki. He said Zambia was pleased with the work of AUDA-NEPAD in the country’s agriculture and climate change sectors. Gen Miti indicated that Zambia was determined to achieve its vision 2030 through enhanced regional integration.