"Our destiny is to serve our farmers," FAO Zambia Rep's Farewell Message to Zambia

Dr George Okechi (far left) has served as FAO Zambia Country Representative since 2013

Having served as FAO Country rep to Zambia for 7 years, one can be tempted to forget that the day would come for Dr. George Okech to bid farewell and proceed to the next best thing that life has to offer him.

Having chosen a career in veterinary medicine, Dr. Okech noticed a disconnect between research findings and the information that was filtering into farming community. It is from here that his passion to make a difference in the livestock subsector grew.

“I really wanted to research ideas to really get into the communities…once you get results from the research institutions, they need to be disseminated by extension officers which we call transfer of technology…So I decided for myself that I really wanted to go and be that part of the transfer of knowledge,” Dr. Okech said.

This drive to share knowledge led him to leave his then job as a civil servant in Kenya and join OXFAM who appointed him to work in South Sudan as a Food Security Coordinator with a bias towards the livelihood aspect that is related to livestock production.

After 3 years, he was recruited by FAO in 2001.

Diary of a Fieldworker

70km away from Nakonde town, rice farming is improving household food & nutrition security; and income generation

Luapula river at sunset