A Call to Focus on Smart Agriculture as WV Responds to Food Crisis in Zambia
By Collins Kaumba, Donor Liaison, Zambia
The British Government has said the food and water crisis in Zambia is real and severe, requiring partners and farmers to immediately embrace smart agriculture, that can help households overcome the effects of drought.
Speaking during an interview with Demu School Young Journalists, British High Commissioner to Zambia’s Humanitarian Adviser, Stephen Gwynne-Vaughan said farmers would only thrive the effects of climate change effectively if they embraced smart agriculture.
“The farmers, especially young ones, including those in schools, need to be targeted with education and training on how they can overcome the effects of climate change through smart agriculture that promotes methods of practising conservation farming,” said Mr Gwynne-Vaughan.
Mr Gwynne-Vaughan also said he was impressed with the improvements in the processes of disbursing social cash transfer compared to 2003, when the British government started supporting the Zambian government with funds for social cash transfer.
Mr Gwynne-Vaughan also said he was impressed with the improvements in the processes of disbursing social cash transfer if he was to compare it to the time when the British government started to support the Zambian government with funds for social cash transfer in 2003.
“We started social cash transfer targeting only a few people in Zambia. Then, we had challenges dealing with a smaller population, but now that we have over a million beneficiaries, I expected bigger challenges,, including pregnant and lactating mothers; many vulnerable people will be able to overcome the worsening effects of drought on them and their livestock, especially with regard but I admit that there are a lot of improvements in the disbursement of social cash transfer,” he said, adding that, “We just have to work on a few challenges we have just noticed after this visit to the field.”
He appreciated the impact of the regular social cash transfer and now believes that with the introduction of the emergency social cash transfer for vulnerable people including the pregnant and lactating mothers, many vulnerable people will be able to overcome the worsening effects of drought on them and their livestock, especially with regards to access to food for the families.
Mr Gwynne-Vaughan commended World Vision Zambia for responding to the country's emergency food crisis and for having implemented water projects such as the weir dam and boreholes, which are helping families and their livestock in Namwala have water for drinking and gardening to overcome the effects of the drought.
World Vision Zambia National Director Marc Nosbach said embracing smart agriculture is the best way to help families become sustainably resilient to climate change, particularly drought.
“It is saddening to see that Zambia, which was one of the food baskets of southern Africa, We are already doing a lot to ensure families are resilient to drought, but we need to re-look some areas that we can improve upon to ensure that funds are sourced and accelerate training and sharing of smart agriculture information to the farmers.” experience drought in the manner it has impacted families,” Mr Nosbach said. “We are already doing a lot to ensure families are resilient to drought, but we need to re-look some areas that we can improve upon to ensure that funds are sourced and accelerate training and sharing of smart agriculture information with the farmers.”
World Vision Zambia and the British High Commissioner’s Office visited Namwala District to see and appreciate what World Vision is already doing there in partnership with the government and other partners to respond to the drought and to explore ways of enhancing further partnerships to save lives.
Namwala District Commissioner Ephraim Shandavu, who spoke when the visitors paid a courtesy call on him, said 98% of the 168,000 farmers in Namwala District harvested nothing during the 2023 – 2024 farming season.
“Namwala experiences droughts and floods sometimes, but the current drought has been the worst in many years. It has hugely impacted the people and the animals regarding food and water, but I want to thank World Vision for the boreholes you have provided and the food you are distributing in partnership with the government in the district,” Mr Shandavu said.
The District Commissioner also thanked the British Government for supporting vulnerable families with the regular social cash transfer and now the emergency social cash transfer.