By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
PARTNERSHIPS between the private sector and the small-holder farmers are critical in the development of the agriculture sector.
This is so because it helps lessen dependence on Government in terms of inputs and strengthen market linkages.
It is encouraging to note that Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) like Musika Development Initiatives (MDI) Zambia Limited is making strides in creating partnerships between the farmers and the private sector.
Musika has partnered with a number of organisations to facilitate the development of an agricultural retail market in which commercial distribution companies see the small-holder sector as a major sales opportunity.
The organisation is also investing in management systems that are tailored towards addressing the needs of a particular market.
And this is why the  perception by the private sector that the smallholder market offers very little opportunity for business growth is slowly changing as a result of   Musika’s efforts.
Musika is a non-profit organisation whose development approach focuses on changing market systems that show the greatest existing opportunity for pro-poor growth.
It works primarily with the private sector companies that are willing to invest in productive commercial relationships with the rural poor, as clients, suppliers and consumers of their products and services.
Musika has assisted in the development of the business   models by firms that enabled smallholders to afford and adopt modern technologies such as mechanised farming and the use of herbicides to increase efficiency, reduce costs and increase productivity and profits.
Recently Musika organised a media workshop to create awareness about its work in Zambia since it started operations in November, 2011.
At the opening of the workshop, Musika Board chairperson Guy Robinson said as a result of Musika’s efforts, the perception that small-holder market offers little opportunity for business growth is slowly changing.
“The market opportunities that the organisation has created, has enabled small holder farmers to invest in their own production which has reduced the high dependency on Government subsidies and handling outputs from some Aid organistions that have made it difficult for them to graduate out of poverty,” Mr Robinson said .
Mr Robinson said over the years, Musika had seen more and more firms expanding their operations in remote and commercially difficult areas, and offering value addition extension so that the relationships become more sustainable.
He  said the role the private sector has played in changing the status quo cannot be underestimated.
“What Musika has demonstrated through its work is that the private sector has a major role to play in addressing the many gaps that exist in the agricultural sector. This realisation forms the basis of Musika’s operations whose vision is a dynamic agricultural market that works for all stakeholders and the rural poor in particular,” he said.
Mr Robinson, however, acknowledged that there is still a lot that needs to be done to overcome the numerous challenges that the private sector and smallholder farmers are faced with.
The challenges include poor transportation, poor access to information, inadequate energy infrastructure, under-developed rural input markets, and inadequate distribution networks to make the linkages sustainable among many others.
Musika remains committed to providing the required financial and material support in form of training, infrastructure, incentives and motorbikes to support private-led extension services to increase productivity.
To date, Musika has over 40 corporate clients providing improved access to approximately 80,000 small holders across the country, and works with five industry associations and the Government.
He said Musika had also facilitated the establishment of 750 new points of access to agricultural inputs, services and output markets in rural areas.
Mr Robinson said Musika  further recognises the media as a key driver of change and that much could be achieved if the media was engaged in the development process.
He said sustainable partnerships between Musika, its private sector partners and the media would encourage the sharing of information that would promote growth of the agricultural industry.
He said the media could play a key role in disseminating information on products and services, highlighting existing opportunities in the smallholder market and act as advocates by highlighting some of the challenges facing smallholder farmers in Zambia.
To this effect, Musika operations, output and environmental markets manager Charles Musonda said about 10,000 farmers are expected to be assisted by Musika to access markets and financial services to help boost their livelihoods.
The organisations are also supporting insurance companies in introducing simple and low-cost risk mitigation products for the rural markets.
Musika is identifying markets to work for the benefit of the poor through foundamentally implementing changes in the way they do business.
Musika aims to achieve an improved functioning of agricultural finance markets resulting in 10,000 smallholder farmers accessing specific financial services by 2016.
He said this change must sustainably benefit the agriculture sector, the firms and rural Zambians living in underserved areas.
A good example of smallholder farmers who have benefited from Musika’s efforts is a Lukoshi based farmer Brian Iseki who recently acquired a tractor worth K112,000 from First  National Bank (FNB)  and is currently assisting a number of farmers to cultivate their fields.
Mr Iseki said he had in the 2013/2014 farming season managed to increase the number of hectares on his maize field due to mechanized farming.
“I managed to harvest 1050  by 50 kilogrammes bags of maize,  but I expect to harvest 2000 bags during this farming season,” Mr Iske said.
Mr Iseki is servicing over 300 hectares in terms of reaping and plouging, and was using part of the money to service the loan.
He appealed to the private sector to ensure they motivated farmers by providing  incentives which would assist them grow their crops and produce.
Musika is ready to work with other partners to contribute to the growth of agriculture sector
It is  important therefore to identify challenges smallholder farmers are facing if the sector is to record significant growth.