POVERTY: Zambia: IFAD Eradicating Poverty

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has commended the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) for its commitment to ensuring that poverty is eradicated in Zambia by targeting the most vulnerable rural populace through various agricultural projects.
And IFAD president Kanayo Nwanze has said his organisation would pump in US$ 25 million for agricultural projects during the period 2010 to 2012.
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President Banda said at State House yesterday when he met Mr Nwanze that IFAD was one of the cooperating partners which worked with the Government to directly address issues that affected people especially in rural areas.
President Banda assured Mr Nwanze that the Government would do everything possible to ensure that IFAD established more of its activities in Zambia.
He said he was happy that the IFAD president had toured some of the projects in Southern Province which the organisation had undertaken and that the projects had been successful.
Mr Banda said Zambia was putting much emphasis on the diversification of the economy and agriculture was one sector, which was being strengthened.
As a result of unemployment, many youths had turned to agriculture for their livelihood.
He said women too, were also engaged in agricultural activities in order to look after their families and orphans.
As a result of the Government's commitment to strengthening the agricultural sector, Zambia had recorded a bumper harves of 2.8 million tones of maize the highest in the history of the country.
President Banda said Zambia also had surplus wheat, which it needed to export, but was facing stiff competition from South Africa which was selling the grain cheaper.
The other problem that the agricultural sector faced were cattle diseases in North-Western, Western and Southern provinces.
And Mr Nwanze said IFAD had been working in Zambia since 1981 and had supported 11 projects out of which eight were fully completed at a cost of US$155 million.
Mr Nwanze said once the three remaining projects are completed the investment portfolio in Zambia would go up to $285 million.
He said IFAD was designing a project with the ministry of agriculture and cooperatives, which would run for five to seven years at a cost of $66 million.
Mr Nwanze commended President Banda's Government for it's concentration on the agricultural sector as evidenced by the various gains that had been recorded.
He said conservation farming should also be encouraged to mitigate the effects of climate change.
He said he was happy to note that more than 250 households were now engaged in conservation farming in Zambia.
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