MEET DOROTHY MAKINA : A CHAMPION OF CLIMATE CHANGE FROM SENANGA,WESTERN PROVINCE

Dorothy Makina is willing to learn more about 
making her farming climate resilient

Like farmers all around the Zambia, those in Western province are aware of the consequences that the prolonged drought will have on their household incomes and nutrition. Just by looking at some of the stretches of dry crop fields that line the roads leading to the countryside it is easy to believe that most small-scale farmers will not harvest much.

It is for this reason that farmers are being compelled to take up proactive interventions to ensure that they have enough food to last them until the next farming season.

Dorothy Makina from Senanga district of Western  province can be described as one of the resourceful farmers in the district. She has a flock of 80 goats, she also rears chickens and owns a few cattle too. Every farming season she normally cultivates 6 hectares of her land with maize for consumption and for sale.

As expected from the prolonged drought, however, her entire maize crop failed.

SHARING DATA KEY TO ACCURATE REPORTING ON MALABO COMMITMENTS

The participants at the Knowledge Managment training workshop
on Data Capture &; Monitoring/Reporting on Malabo Commitments

By Natasha Mhango

The commitments of the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agriculture Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, come to an end in 2025 which is literally next year. The Malabo Commitments, as they are usually referred to, were the product of a 2014 African Union Heads of State meeting in which member states committed to fostering agriculture -led development in order to reduce poverty and end hunger in Africa by 2025.

This targeted approach saw various African countries also commit to allocating 10% of their public expenditures towards financing agriculture, boosting intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services; as well as ensuring regular a biennial review process to track and monitor the progress being made.https://www.resakss.org/sites/default/files/Malabo%20Declaration%20on%20Agriculture_2014_11%2026-.pdf

While a significant number of signatories to the Commitments are not on track in achieving some of the set targets, they have however made significant progress in the right direction.

During a recently held training workshop on Knowledge Management and Monitoring /Reporting of Malabo Commitments that was held in Chisamba, Zambia,

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE PROLONGED DROUGHT ON ANIMAL HEALTH

 

Some cattle licking at a dry borehole to try and quench their thirst

Much is being said about the impact of the southern regions’ prolonged drought on the crop sector and its consequential effect on the availability of food for human beings. However, a silent struggle that the livestock sub-sector is likely to face as a result of the drought equally needs attention.

In Zambia, the prolonged drought has catalysed the already fast depleting grazing lands for livestock. Whereas grazing lands would usually dry up around the month of June, this year’s poor rainfall has entailed that livestock farmers are being burdened with the need to supplement their animals’ nutrition much earlier than usual.

Inadequate grazing is also a hazardous opportunity for the outbreak of livestock diseases stemming from starvation.

E-SLIP FACILITATES A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO RANGELAND MANAGEMENT

 

Grazing areas are fast depleting and deforestation has adversely 
affected the already low rainfall pattern of Chirundu

As the effects of climate change continue to reveal themselves in the livestock sector, rural farmers are being compelled to make aggressive efforts towards enhancing their resilience and ultimately protect their livelihoods.

In valley areas such as Chirundu, a grim scenario exists which continues to hinder farmers’ capacity to grow their livestock population most especially cattle.

The Enhanced Smallholder Livestock Investment Programme is a government intervention under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. The Programme which is jointly financed with the International Fund for Agriculture Development(IFAD) aims to improve the sustainable production and productivity of rural livestock farmers. One of E-SLIP’s interventions has been facilitating the revamping of existing rangelands through over sowing of forage and pasture so as to enhance available grazing areas for livestock among other things.

E-SLIP has been facilitating the over sowing of 35 rangelands around the country through the establishment of Rangeland Management Committees that are comprised of farmers who are located in areas that are directly dependent on the rangelands.

Headmen in Chirundu take action against indiscriminate tree cutting

 

Roy Habasimbe - a headmans of Sikoongo area

Chirundu district is renowned for its high temperatures and low rainfall. But this scenario has been exacerbated by climate change and is bordering on becoming unbearable for both human and livestock if no interventions are made.

The District experienced only one month of rainfall during the 2022/2023 rain season and boreholes around the district are already drying up.

Livestock can be seem roaming in search of food and water; and farmers in the district have every right to be disturbed by what they are observing.

Roy Habasimbe is a farmer and village headman in an area called Sikoongo. He explained that in the last 7 years, he has observed a significant reduction in rainfall in the area.

“In 2019, our cattle were even dying of dehydration,” he lamented.

HEAD WOMAN JUSTINA PHIRI - AN ADVOCATE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE

Justina Phiri has been headwoman in Mumbulumba 

village for 15 years

Women in leadership positions in rural areas remains a wonder to see but their contributions to their communities often go un-acknowledged. This is because the increase in patriarchal attitudes disguised as cultural norms hinders women’s participation in leadership roles in rural areas.

Mumbuluma village is located in Luangwa district of Eastern province in Zambia. The area has 12 village headwomen and only 4 headmen. These women are also advocates for climate change interventions that their area is in dire need of. 

59-year-old Justina Phiri has been a headwoman in the area for the past 15 years. She explained that indiscriminate tree cutting for charcoal has led communities to observe the reduction of rainfall over the years and hence the need to conserve the environment was finally being taken seriously by rural communities. 

YOUTH FARMERS IN MPONGWE TAKE A CHANCE WITH YAMS

Yams pounded into meal and used to cook porridge 

WHEN youth think of lucrative employment, they usually fantasize about anything other than getting their hands dirty with soil or absorbing the scent of livestock. However, as the trends in entrepreneurship change due to changing the preferences among people, the need for food and nutrition remains constant. As such, farming continues to be the income generation which is guaranteed to have a constant clientele.

As youth unemployment remains a challenge worldwide, a significant number of youth are being compelled to be creative and take a leap into entrepreneurship. Musonda Katongo is 26 year old youth and member of a cooperative group that is generating a steady income from the production and processing of yams.

As yams are not our common staple food among the people of Zambia, opting to go into yam production entailed some amount of research and self-education was needed to ensure that the venture of yam production would guarantee a return on the cooperative’s investment.