How Can Zambia Engage Small-scale Farmers in the Implementation of Its NDCs?

 A CTA-sponsored workshop held in Chisamba to engage stakeholders in how best Zambia can finance the implementation of her NDCs

The observed decreases in crop production in the 2019 crop forecast survey caused by adverse weather conditions, indicates the urgency to implement adaptation and mitigation measures stipulated in the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to climate change. The sustainability and growth of the agricultural sector now depends on the ability to generate profit amidst the effects of climate change.

Farming is a business
and small scale rural farmers today, depend on their agriculture as a source of income and not only food. This entails that they need to develop a sense of business in order to market and sell their produce.

While these farmers are facing hurdles in improving their agribusiness, they now have to adapt to the impact of climate change as they are the most affected by it.

Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Zambia committed herself to contributing to the prevention of human damage to the environment by submitting its Intentional Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to climate change in 2015.These INDCs were ratified by the UNFCCC in 2016 and are now referred to the country’s NDCs.

Zambia’s NDCs include the aim to reduce its Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by 47% - a goal that attracted a budget target of US$50 billion for a period of 15 years (2015 - 2030).

However, budget tracking tools on climate change investment flows reveal that Zambia currently generates US$0.54 billion annually - leaving a budget deficit of about US$2.5 billion. This highlights a need to strengthen the multi-sectorial approach towards financing climate change adaption and mitigation in Zambia.

Given the vulnerability of farmers to climate change, it is imperative that they are accommodated in efforts to implement Zambia’s NDCs efficiently?

In view of this, surging agribusiness forward so that farmers can benefit amidst climate change requires addressing a number of impediments. These include the urgent need for more infrastructure such as storage facilities to reduce post-harvest losses. Currently, there is a trend among small scale farmers to sell off their produce shortly after harvest and at low prices in a bid to realize quick cash due to lack of sufficient storage facilities.

Farmers also lack sufficient  information concerning agricultural insurance. They are unaware of the products of agricultural finance and hence are reluctant to purchase them while at the same time, agricultural insurance itself  is costly as the primarily as a result of its dependence on empirical data such as historical weather data, mapping data etc which require the engagement of consultancy.

It's is also well known that small scale farmers lack access to credit. Access to credit can empower farmers to be able protect their farming investments, scale-up the adoption of best farming practices while at the same time enable them to expand and diversify their agriculture.

In view of these challenges in agribusiness, how then can farmers be engaged in implementation of the NDCs?

Empowering small scale rural farmers with credit must be preceded by empowering them with knowledge. Farmers need to be made aware of what Zambia’s NDCs are and the importance of climate smart agriculture (CSA). In that way, farmers can be engaged in implementation through a participatory approach.

Crowning all this, must be institutions that will provide the infrastructure and institutional support to complete the combination of farmers and agribusiness in implementing the NDCs.

While the government is responsible for providing a favorable policy environment, private sector and civil society interests along the agricultural value chain can be synergized into the process in a bid to incorporate them in the implementation of the NDC.

Martin Sishekanu - a farmer and agricultural consultant – was a participant at a workshop that was recently held to validate strategies to enhance finances to support the implementation of Zambia’s NDCs. He bemoaned the high farmer-extension officer ratio which needed to be addressed in order to enable farmer-engagement in the implementation of the NDCs.

During a presentation at the workshop that was sponsored and facilitated by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) , it was revealed that there were structures such as Camp Agricultural Committees(CACs), District Agricultural Committees (DACs) and government extension services that were well-established at the grassroots to enhance farmer participation in issues like climate change and CSA. However, the efficiency of these structures was overwhelmed with the current extension officer to farmer ratio ranges from 1:1900 to 1:1400.

It was observed that some private sector and civil society organizations did complement existing extension services but there was a need to harmonize their efforts in order to better engage farmers.

“The structures that are existing are not being utilized particularly by the private sector and some civil societies because it is like each of these may want to identify themselves with particular farmers that they are working with and not particular situations or practices affecting the farmers,” Mr. Sishekanu.

In other words, programs and projects that deal with issues of climate change must be well coordinated and implemented through already existing structures.

According to a consultant for the International Centre for Agriculture and Rural Corporation, Dr. Guteta Sileshi, the investment and institutional frameworks for climate finance were well established but he reiterated the importance of working through existing structures in order to appeal to farmers.

“Zambia has made much progress in terms of preparedness to implement the nationally determined contributions as well as the financing of that – all the necessary policies are in place, institutional arrangements are in place, that’s what our evaluation indicated…The ground is fertile so now it’s to start financing,” Dr. Sileshi said.

If all key players can coordinaate their efforts towards implementing the NDCs, farmers will be compelled to play their role not only for their own good but for the benefit of the country’s agricultural sector as a whole.