by Katharine Vincent and Willem Colenbrander
August 19, 2024
FoSTA Health team members Katharine Vincent and Willem Colenbrander share some thoughts on what they learned from exhibitors at Zambia’s national agricultural show in August 2024.
Lusaka Agricultural Showgrounds were buzzing with activity for 6 days from 31st July to 5th August as Zambia hosted the 96th Agriculture and Commercial Show. The show coincides with the Farmers’ Day national holiday on 5th August. The fact that a national holiday called “Farmers’ Day” exists is testament to the importance of the agriculture sector in Zambia.
Seventy percent of the country’s population relies on agriculture for food, employment, and income. But the sector is very diverse. A relatively small proportion of the sector is dominated by large-scale, commercial-oriented farming enterprises which contribute around 19% to the national GDP. Cotton and tobacco are among major export crops, but other commodities that find their way to international markets include coffee, groundnuts, soybean, sesame, sugar cane and herbs (in the form of dried leaf and essential oils).
In contrast, a large part of the sector comprises of small-scale individual farmers who rely on farming for their livelihoods and food security. Small-scale farmers mainly produce food crops such as maize, sorghum, millet, cassava, and groundnuts; they produce the bulk of food crops in Zambia.
Over 100 exhibitors were present at the Agriculture and Commercial Show, representing public and private interests in the sector and beyond. We had the opportunity to visit several stands and get some insights into the current nature of the agricultural sector in Zambia.
Reflecting the size of the sector, the Ministry of Agriculture had many stands. Zambia Agricultural Research Institute was highlighting an approach it is trialling-- to apply inoculant to maize. The inoculant, azotobacter, are nitrogen-fixing bacteria without symbiotic relations with plants as opposed to Rhizobium which forms the root nodules in legumes. Azotobacter is affordable for small-scale farmers. A bag costing 20 Kwacha (less than US$1) is sufficient for a 50kg bag of seed. This is important because using inorganic fertiliser is more expensive and also has negative impacts on the soil and environment (and thus not in-keeping with the One Health approach).
Training and educational centres were also well represented, providing vocational and technical training. Among the wares displayed on their stands were value-addition products that they are promoting to increase farmer incomes. Examples included biscuits made from millet, soy, or rice; pickled vegetables, including garden egg, carrots, and green beans; and juices of vegetables (including onion) and fruits.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Development College was also showcasing a compact model for a market garden, which can be created in a plot of less than 2mx2m. This typically comprises raised beds and a hollow in which water collects or can be filled, which enables it to permeate the surrounding soil from the bottom up. They are often called “keyhole” gardens-- to reflect the shape, which has a small indent in the middle to allow easy access to all corners.
Also being exhibited were projects with support from various donors. JICA was highlighting their support to a rice development programme in the west and north of the country where sufficient water exists to support growth of this crop. Locally appropriate rice seeds have been developed in partnership with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute and training is being provided in how to effectively farm them with the aim of producing for sale.
A Green Climate Fund-supported project--Strengthening Climate Resilience of Agricultural Livelihoods in Agro-Ecological Regions I and II in Zambia-- is supporting farmers across 16 districts in the driest areas of the country to promote climate-resilient agricultural systems. The project is promoting water conservation, improved use of irrigation technologies and strengthened climate information services.
Different departments of the Ministry of Agriculture were also present. The Seed Control and Certification Institute provided updates on the status of the Breeders’ Rights Act and the Seed Act, both of which are going through consultation phase. The aim is to ensure that a certification process is in place for commercial seed sales – whether open-pollinated or hybrid varieties. However, contrary to popular discourse, this has no bearing on farmers reusing their own seeds or small-scale and informal trading in non-certified seeds in local markets.
A variety of commercial enterprises were also present, displaying everything from agrochemicals and hybrid seeds, including drought-tolerant varieties and those fortified with vitamin A, to machinery and farming tools.
For us the show itself and the conversations we had within it reflect some of the tensions that are characteristic of Zambia’s agricultural sector today.
On the one hand, there has traditionally been a strong drive for “modernisation”, which has brought about the use of hybrid seeds and agrochemicals to ramp up production – but with little consideration of the environmental consequences.
On the other hand, there is growing recognition that agro-ecological approaches, and particularly conservation farming, offer greater potential for desirable One Health outcomes. However, although these approaches are promoted in some way, and are often codified in policy documents and programmes, they still seem to be of secondary importance. This tension – and the implications of it for food system transformation – is something that FoSTA Health is endeavouring to represent both through the diversity of stakeholders it engages with (in its Work Package 1), and in its work on food systems mapping and identification of leverage points (Work Package 6).
