From CHARLES SIMENGWA in Rome, Italy  –
ZAMBIA has paid tribute to its international partners that are helping fight hunger in the country through specially-tailored programmes, particularly on nutrition.
The World Food Programme (WFP), Industrial Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have been prominent in driving efforts aimed at scaling up nutrition and building capacity among small-scale farmers.
Zambia’s Ambassador to Italy Gertrude Mwape said yesterday that the Rome-based organisations had agreed to pool their efforts in order to achieve greater impact in their programmes.
Ms Mwape, who addressed Zambian journalists at the country’s embassy here, said the WFP, IFAD and FAO had taken the lead in supporting a home-grown school-feeding programme and helping small-scale farmers get access to markets.
She said the three bodies were also assisting Zambia to mitigate the effects of climate change, which was posing a major threat to agricultural production.
Ms Mwape said the focus of the three organisations was around the school-feeding programme, nutrition, and resilience building.
She cited the US$33.5 million, which WFP had staked for its 2016-2020 country support programme, as one of the landmark investments that would benefit Zambia.
Among other target areas, IFAD has been driving the enhanced Smallholder Livestock Programme aimed at bolstering the capacity of farmers.
“Small-scale farmers have for a long time faced difficulties in accessing markets for their produce and these programmes being spearheaded by our partners are really helping in improving their lives,” Ms Mwape said.
“Government is committed to increasing the number of children on the school feeding programme from the current one million to two million by the year 2020. Therefore, the support from our partners is highly treasured.”
She also hailed the role First Lady Esther Lungu had been playing in mitigating the effects of hunger among the vulnerable people.
She said reducing hunger and poverty required a multi-sectoral approach, and urged the private sector and civil society, especially community-based organisations, to join in the promotion of better nutrition.
Ms Mwape said through her community projects, the First Lady had added fresh impetus to efforts targetted at fighting hunger in Zambia.
“The voice of the First Lady has been very important in promoting better nutrition among our people and she needs the support of everyone in that noble cause,” Ms Mwape told the Zambian journalists who are here to cover President Edgar Lungu’s meeting with the Pope at the Vatican on Friday, among other critical assignments.