June 26, 2020
News
Agriculture is one of the priority sectors for Caritas Czech Republic in Zambia. It is one of our true passions! Supporting farmers must go beyond it.For instance, helping farmers to enter the world of business with all the tools to help them succeed.
Peter Mahela Lutoombi is the Agriculture Officer at Caritas Czech Republic in Mongu. The farmers he mentors are part of a project titled AgriBusiness for LIFE funded by the Czech Development Agency and implemented in close cooperation with a number of inspiring partners, such as Lima Links Zambia, Czech University of Life Sciences or Big Terra, an exciting start-up. As we are working with our beneficiaries, that is the medium scale farmers and cooperatives, it‘s important to link them to the market and financial services,‘ explains Peter.
The farmers we work with usually cultivate field crops such as Soya beans, groundnuts, rice, maize, sorghum and cassava. There is a problem, though. Small scale producers have difficulties finding customers who would consistently buy what they produce. Their production capacity is often too low to meet the market demand. We therefore try to encourage them to diversify the production and explore rearing poultry and small livestock as well.
According to Peter, production yield has been overwhelming this year. But our work doesn’t end there ‚our farmers have been linked to Grain Millers, APG Milling, National Milling, Country Millers and Herbert Makuyu Millers. Some of these buyers are located here in Mongu and others are processing companies like One Banja, Food Plus Zambia and Chankwakwa LTD who buy groundnuts, Soya beans or sunflower seed. More buyers are still being contacted!, says Peter.
