DAPP and WFP to heighten nutrition among farmers and pregnant women

DAPP Zambia in partnership with World Food Program (WFP) started implementing the Integrated Nutrition and Smallholder Farmers’ Support program in July 2019.

The program aims at promoting diversified agriculture, access to viable and functional markets, managing of food waste, knowledge gaps as well as promotion of feeding practices and nutrition situation among the targeted beneficiaries in Katete, Nyimba, Petauke, Lundazi in Eastern Province and Monze and Namwala Districts in Southern Province of Zambia.

The project is expected to contribute, in the long term, to the enhancement of resilience against the effects of climate change, food and nutrition situation in the targeted districts.

In 2019 the programme enrolled 6,640 smallholder farmers and formed 160 Farmers’ Clubs with a projection of reaching 12,500 farmers organised in 320 Farmers’ Clubs when it is fully established.

The programme works with pregnant and lactating women, children under two years and reaches adolescents with messages on health, nutrition and production of nutritious foods. It also conducts community mobilization activities, community project awareness meetings and farmer registration exercises. From Clubs, 641 lead farmers were trained to spearhead the improvement of agriculture, and a further 619 were trained as nutrition champions to spearhead activities that provide improved nutrition.

Fifty-six Schools have been enrolled in the project to establish School Health Nutrition Clubs, and are supported to establish vegetable gardens that will act as school fields for the school going adolescents.  As an agricultural input preparedness, manual rain gauges were installed in the districts, with 81 rain gauge minders trained in managing them as well as recording rain.