Africa not poor, insists Magufuli as AfDB agrees

AfDB President Dr. Adesina at the 39th SADC meeting.

DOREEN NAWA
Dar es Salaam
AFRICA is not poor and has all the resources needed to create its own wealth, Tanzania's President John Magufuli has said.
And African Development Bank says Africa must not be under-ambitious in its transformation saying its potential to create its own wealth is visible, the Banks President Akinwumi Adesina has said.
The two were speaking at the on going 39 Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
"Our countries are not poor. We are very rich. We have all the resources needed for one to be rich. We have huge population, large number of wildlife, vast plant species, marine ecosystem, minerals and hydrocarbons,” President Magufuli said.
President Magufuli officially took over as Chair of the 16-nation regional economic integration body, from Namibian President Dr. Hage Geingob at the summit attended by 16 heads of state and government.
And Dr Adesina said the African Development Bank’s $13 billion investment in Southern African region since 2012 is delivering strong results across SADC Countries.
The African Development Bank has invested heavily in the region with key projects including a $5 billion investment in ESKOM, critical for power supply for South Africa and the SADC region.
The Bank has also supported Mauritius with $114 million for its St. Louis Power Plant that now provides 36 percent of the population with electricity.
“For every dollar of paid-in capital by the region, it received about $ 19 in investments, an impressive 19:1 leverage ratio,” Dr Adesina said in his address.
“Unlocking the potential of the Inga hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo must be a top priority,” Adesina urged.
With a potential of over 44,000 MW, Inga can power the whole of the region, and beyond.  “That’s why the African Development Bank is strongly supporting the realization of the INGA 3,” he said.
The recently inaugurated Walvis Bay Port expansion in Namibia, supported with $300 million from the Bank, will help double its capacity from 300,000 to 750,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, providing better port access to Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
Other transformative bank-funded projects include the construction of the Kazungula Bridge that will link Zambia and Botswana, and improve access to Malawi and DRC. The Bank’s $500 million funding of the Nacala corridor holds the key for much of regional integration in the SADC region and will expand regional trade by 25 percent and reduce transport cost by 15-25 percent.
The African Development Bank is supporting the establishment of a $ 1.2 billion SADC Regional Development Fund to help mobilize domestic resources for regional infrastructure and industrialization.
In May this year, the Bank approved $ 2 million for the operationalization of this Fund, including for project preparation for agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and mining.
Thanking the heads of state for their strong support for a general capital increase (GCI) for the Bank, he noted that the proposed capital increase would help fast-track Africa’s development.
Last year, the Bank financed the rapid dissemination of technologies to tackle the fall army worm, a serious threat to food security in the SADC region. Its intervention reached 1.5 million farmers in that year alone.
SADC’s 16 member states are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, ESwatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“I see a brighter future for the SADC region. Regional railways that link the whole region, regional value chains that will drive competitiveness, Special Agro-industrial zones that will transform agriculture into a major business across the region, creating millions of jobs, and regional power pools that will finally solve the energy challenge in the region,” Dr  Adesina said.

Reaping the economic rewards of conservation

In eastern Zambia, smallholder Nelly Zimba picks grass to use for mulching to improve her soil fertility

© Doreen Chilumbu

By DOREEN NAWA

Climate-smart incentives

To overcome the issues of drought and extreme poverty in Zambia, smallholders are being rewarded for taking up climate-smart, conservation practices to increase productivity and protect their environment.

Smallholders in Zambia are receiving training in climate-smart production practices and technologies to achieve food security and access to guaranteed markets, while conserving natural resources. Through a Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) model for rural development, 179,000 farmers across eastern Zambia – 52% of whom are women – have benefited from access to affordable farming inputs and formal training in low-tillage farming, mulching and composting.

COMACO’s premise is that with the right training and incentives, smallholders will favour sustainable agriculture practices over more destructive methods, such as monoculture and deforestation, and move away from elephant and rhino poaching. The scheme offers above-market prices for goods that are produced in compliance with conservation agriculture practices, and access to inputs when using these methods.

Before the programme was introduced in 2003, farmers in the area were earning around €17 per harvest; this has since risen by at least €170. “Most families in the Luangwa Valley experience 3-5 months of chronic food insecurity. With few options available to support their families, residents may turn to logging, illegal hunting, and slash-and-burn agriculture. But, since these incentives were introduced to the area, these trends have reduced and farmers involved in the programme have enough food,” says chief Nsefu, a traditional leader in the area.

The promoted practices also include beekeeping, gardening in the dry season and poultry husbandry. Diversified production has enhanced productivity for smallholders and reduced the need for inorganic fertilisers, thereby decreasing nitrous oxide emissions. “Teaching how to compost may not be appreciated [by farmers] the first time but, as time has gone by, we have come to value the training. Our soils are looking healthier and even the crop yield has improved. We have enough food in our homes and income in our pockets,” says Zitandala Sakala, a smallholder farmer in Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia.

The uptake of beekeeping has also dissuaded farmers from cutting down their trees. “It has been hard work, but now, hundreds of farmers are realising the value of keeping and protecting trees. I have felt such pride in the producers for the way they have changed their practices and it makes me so happy to see them make a better living from conservation,” says Julius Kamanga, a beekeeper from Mfuwe.

Mulching has also become an integral practice among farmers in the area as a result of the project training. Smallholder Nelly Zimba feels the technique is a necessary ingredient to successful farming and provides the key to long-term maintenance of strong, biologically active soils. “If you see my field today, it is full of maize stalks; I have reserved this for mulching at an opportune time,” she says. “We raise over 35 different types of fruits and vegetables with about 2 ha under production. We have 4 ha suitable for vegetable production, so we rotate the other 2 with cover crops.”

Zambia faces frequent flooding and drought, and Luangwa Valley is one of the most affected areas in the country. To help mitigate the impacts of drought, the programme has facilitated the planting of over 10 million cassava cuttings to serve as a drought-resistant food reserve. Cassava crops can also help increase water storage in the soil profile and reduce the risk of rainfall run-off. “[The farmers] have learned the importance of diversification and now grow cassava. Before COMACO, a lot of farmers just grew maize and the yields have always been depressing,” says Nsefu. PUBLISHED IN THE SPORE MAGAZINE ON APRIL 3, 2019. LINK: https://spore.cta.int/en/climate-smart-solutions/all/article/reaping-the-economic-rewards-of-conservation-sid029ad9381-f845-4332-be5e-8ab35a406afb

Groundnut production boosts profits for Zambian farmers

By DOREEN CHILUMBU

Greater access to improved groundnut seed in Zambia and training in crop management is increasing smallholder productivity and market access in the face of diminishing cotton prices.

Small-scale farmers in the Chipata, Katete, Minda, Nyimba and Petauke districts of Zambia are moving away from cotton production, and its dwindling harvest prices, to cultivate new and improved groundnut seed varieties. The drought tolerant and high yielding groundnut seeds are helping to increase food and nutrition security in the country, as well as the yields and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The improved seeds are the result of a research and development project, Strengthening Food Legume Seed Delivery Systems in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, which has been funded by the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA). Efforts of the project, introduced in 2014, have so far reached over 1.4 million direct beneficiaries across the three countries.

Zambian smallholders are cultivating improved groundnut seed varieties using conservation agriculture techniques to improve their productivity and incomes

© Doreen Chilumbu

Through the initiative, farmers are also being linked up with private seed companies to secure guaranteed markets for their production. In the Petauke district of Zambia, for example, farmers have been partnered with the Unit Seed Company since 2014, and the project provided smallholders with enough basic groundnut seed to plant 68 ha. Before the cropping season was over in 2015, the seed was already secured at a purchase price of ZMW 6.47 (€0.45) per kg by the company.

“I have found seed production of certified groundnut seed to be beneficial in terms of income generation, which has enabled me to buy cattle, a plough, build a house, and purchase 22 bags of fertiliser,” says Lenard Daka, lead farmer from Felesiano village in Petauke. Daka asserts that before the programme was introduced, most farmers were struggling to meet their needs as their cotton harvests could not be sold for lucrative prices at the market. “Other farmers in my group are now able to provide food for their families and school materials for their children,” he continues.

Emelia Chikubabe from Kumanzi village, also in Petauke, says that after receiving training in entrepreneurship skills, crop management and conservation agriculture under the project, she is a more knowledgeable farmer. “I used to plant the same crop year after year, rather than rotating my crops or planting a range of crops together to grow more, maintain soil health and diversify my family’s diet,” she says. “I have learned that while indigenous seeds are important to protect genetic diversity, improved seeds help farmers to adapt to changing climate conditions, fight crop diseases and produce higher yields,” she adds.

Through collaborative research efforts in the three APPSA implementing countries, over 40 seed varieties have been developed and released for other crops, including for legumes, maize, rice and sorghum. “Some of the improved crop varieties have been developed with a focus on high yield and quality, early maturity, adaptation for abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as tolerance to major diseases and pests of the specific crop,” says Monica Murata, APPSA programme coordinator. PUBLISHED IN THE SPORE MAGAZINE ON JULY 30, 2019. LINK: https://spore.cta.int/en/production/all/article/groundnut-production-boosts-profits-for-zambian-farmers-sid03ebc31d8-dd6c-4e3d-bc16-514d5df81a67?fbclid=IwAR0YuDzDVFxB9To9GJ-JoZnb7Pk8Di-Be8EO2AoD2maPVmJb3wJFNd-i0EQ