4, 000 FARMERS WIN AGRIBUSINESS BOOST

OVER4, 000 individual farmers across the country are expected to benefit from an agribusiness project being implemented by Government with support from the World Bank.

The initiative, which is part of the US$40 million World Bank supported programme, is also expected to benefit 180 producer organisations by 2022. Over K6 million has so far been disbursed to five agribusiness cooperatives towards the project. The project is being financed through the Zambia Agribusiness and Trade Project (ZATP) and implemented by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry. According to the Private Sector Development consultant, Henry Sichembe, the project was important in helping to diversify the economy because Zambia’s growth had been primarily driven by mining. Mr Sichembe said the project would contribute to diversifying the economy through increased market linkages and employment growth in agribusiness. The project, Mr Sichembe explained, was anticipated to reach out to about 4, 000 farmer households and 300 small and medium enterprises while direct beneficiaries were estimated at over 30, 000. He was speaking recently during a cheque representation in Lusaka. “Zambia needs to diversify its resources to sustain its growth, as well as to create employment for its fast growing, urban and youthful population,” he said. He said the agribusiness and trade project had great potential to create the much-needed jobs for women and youths among others. And Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary, Kayula Siame, said the project would assist Zambia’s economic diversification efforts while creating market linkages and firm growth in agribusiness. Ms Siame said Government was aware of the challenges faced by farmers such as insufficient equipment, limited access to finance and knowledge. “The producers organisation to whom the cheques are being presented are the first beneficiaries of the project under the building productive alliances in Zambia sub-component,” she said. Ms Siame said ZATP was aimed at supporting emerging and commercially oriented farmers by investing in both their technical know-how and business management skills. She urged beneficiaries to put the funds to good use to enable them transform their businesses into high productive enterprises. Ms Siame said ZAPT would use the productive alliance model to link poor and emerging farmers to commercially viable value chains by improving their capacity to finance and execute productivity enhancing investments.