Integrated Farming II in Zambia
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project implementor: Mendel University in Brno
Donor: Czech Development Cooperation
Implementation period: 2019-2021
BASELINE STATE
The Western Province of Zambia is one of the poorest provinces in the country due to its difficult geographical and climatic conditions, as well as the effects of long-standing policies of disadvantage and economic isolation.
A significant majority of the population is made up of small-scale farmers, for whom agriculture is often the only source of livelihood. The main problems faced by these farmers are ignorance of good agricultural practices, lack of quality inputs, improper land management and adherence to inefficient traditional practices. Due to these problems, the productivity of smallholder farmers is low, affecting their income levels and the nutrition of their families. Household poverty is one of the factors contributing to the increased incidence of malnutrition among local children.
One of the possibilities to raise the standard of living of smallholder farmers, whether as individuals or in agricultural cooperatives, is to increase production by improving existing farming practices, improving the quality of inputs and additional education of farmers.
PROJECT AIM AND DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS
he development objective of the project was to increase the income of small and medium-scale farmers through the introduction and development of an integrated approach to farming in the Western Province of Zambia and thereby contribute to improving the living standards of the local population.
The objective was to increase agricultural production and productivity of small and medium-scale farmers through the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices.
ROLE OF HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS S.R.O. IN THE PROJECT
As a part of the project, the HS team developed technical designs for irrigation systems that were subsequently built on selected farms and provided repeated technical training on the operation and maintenance of these technologies.
The Western Province has a huge potential to develop aquaculture production. HS experts developed technical designs for fish production ponds at selected project sites. These ponds were then constructed directly by the farmers under HS construction supervision, with HS providing training on pond management (e.g. minor ongoing pond modifications) and also providing ongoing technical consultation throughout the project. Fish were subsequently introduced into the ponds and the ponds were assessed as an excellent source of diversification of production and income for the farmers.
The company also worked on connecting farmers with quality input suppliers and product buyers, and developed information leaflets with contact information and information on the products offered by all model farmers in each of the four project districts.