press releases

U.S. Ambassador Tours Smallholder Irrigation Scheme In Kalulushi

The U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Carmen Martinez, on Wednesday, March 15, visited the Chibote Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Chibuluma, Kalulushi District. The cooperative's irrigation scheme is part of the Copperbelt Outgrower Initiative supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The initiative will develop two new 60-hectare, state-of-the-art irrigation schemes at Lukoshi and Chibuluma in Kalulushi District. Other elements of the $2.6 million program reach most districts of Copperbelt Province.

The Copperbelt Outgrower Initiative is managed and coordinated by the Zambia Agribusiness Technical Assistance Centre (ZATAC). It links Copperbelt farmers to export markets and focuses on non-traditional exports like coffee, spices, and honey.

USAID's partners in the initiative are Konkola Copper Mines Plc, Mopani Copper Mines Plc, Barclays Bank, ZATAC, Cheetah Zambia, Environment and Development in Zambia, Zambian Fertilizers, the Zambia Coffee Board, and the Zambia Coffee Growers Association. International partners include Development Alternatives Incorporated, the Coffee Quality Institute of the USA, and CARE International.

Ambassador Martinez noted that the irrigation scheme responds to Zambia’s need to harness its vast agricultural potential to create jobs and reduce poverty. Increasing irrigation capacity will allow Zambia to free itself from excessive reliance on rain-fed agriculture, which is vulnerable to drought.

Ambassador Martinez called on other development organizations to invest in similar schemes in order to enhance food security and create wealth by effectively and profitably linking smallscale farmers to competitive technologies, technical assistance, and markets. The Ambassador said there is an opportunity for other organizations to work with USAID and ZATAC to expand the irrigation schemes under the Copperbelt Outgrower Initiative in order to reach more farmers and achieve greater economic diversification.
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