Fertilizers and Agriculture in Zambia

The Zambia Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) became operational in August 1995. The Programme expanded in 1997 and received support from IFA, IFAD, FAO and the UNDP. Farmers in the "Smallholder Irrigation Water Users Project" received IFA support for the introduction of fertilizers and training in its effective use. The majority of the vegetable gardens are located in valley bottoms (dambos) where water is mobilized for irrigation through low cost water-lifting technology. The irrigated crops cultivated are rice, vegetables and fruits.

Irrigating tomatoes in the dambo in Chibombo

Constraints
 The main constraints identified in Zambia preventing increased food production are:

  • difficulty to obtain credit for farmers;
  • lack of buyers and consequent low produce prices (marketing difficulties);
  • high transport costs to markets;
  • lack of animal draught power;
  • drought;
  • decreasing soil fertility and extremely low use of fertilizer inputs.

Project component
 The complimentary IFA support to the project became operational in early 1998. The Integrated Plant and Nutrition Systems training imparted advocates the maintenance or adjustment of soil fertility and plant nutrient supply to sustain higher levels of crop production. This is achieved by optimizing the benefits from all possible sources of plant nutrients to better recover applied fertilizer plant nutrients that effect fertilizer use profitability.

The training sessions used the same time frame and targeted the same beneficiaries as the sessions on water management. The fertilizer use training consisted of 7 training courses for 594 district agricultural extension staff, 57 female and 437 male participants. Each extension worker trained about 10 farmers. A fertilizer use manual for irrigated horticulture was developed to permit expansion of activities beyond the duration of the project.

Vegetable growers near Kabwe who participate in the input supply scheme

The IFA support also established a pilot input supply mechanism in three provinces of Zambia for irrigated horticultural crops. Farmers received credit in kind. Seeds and fertilizers were distributed to 21 farmers’ groups with 185 male- 93 women farmers.

Groups farm on communal or (extended) family plots. All revenue is deposited into the groups’ bank accounts. Farmers use the increased income according to their needs. Fund withdrawal is by group consensus. Funds deposited in the groups’ accounts are reserved to purchase fertilizer and seeds inputs for the following irrigation season. As of 2000, the private sector (Omnia) is directly implementing the input supply scheme.

Impact
The farmers benefited from the input supply scheme by: