$1.8m project to lift 10,000 smallholder famers

Mon, 01 May 2017 12:26:27 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

A PARTNERSHIP worth US$1.8 million to support over 10, 000 smallholder farmers in Zambia has been signed between Syngenta and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The programme will be implemented by MRI Seed, a subsidiary of Syngenta and the Feed the Future Partners for Innovation, a USAID programme applied by Fintrac Inc.

The programme aims to build a sustainable seedling distribution model for hybrid vegetables, provide access to market information and linkages.

Other objectives include training farmers on good agricultural practices and business management, as well as introducing new technologies to help smallholder farmers dramatically improve their yields. It will be implemented in 20 districts across Zambia where Syngenta will establish 20 seedling production sites, each owned and operated by an Entrepreneurial Young Plant Raiser (YPR).

Syngenta Zambia head of customer marketing, Mark Stokes, explained that the partnership focused on testing the commercial viability of innovative business models designed to enable smallholder farmers increase their output.

He was speaking in an interview at the Agritech Expo in Chisamba from April 27 to 29th in Chisamba.

Mr Stokes said the initiative would assist farmers increase their profitability whilst using sustainable and safe agricultural practices.

“For Syngenta, smallholder farmers around the world and in Zambia are key to solving the growing gap between the supply and demand for affordable food.

“This is what Syngenta’s Good Growth Plan is ultimately all about, and one that we have proven through the community agro dealer initiative in Zambia over the last years,” he said.

He said Syngenta would help in promoting a pilot program for YPR’s “Vegetable in a Bag” concept, where a small portion of YPR seedlings would be sold in reusable packaging, with no ground soil and minimal water, making them suitable for urban and peri-urban use.

And USAID Zambia Feed the Future division chief, Anafrida Bwenge, said the partnership would facilitate access to markets for farmers.