Purchase for Progress - P4P
Zambia
P4P in Zambia
In Zambia, P4P focuses on promoting and facilitating group marketing to
strengthen the capacity of farmers’ organizations (FOs) through training on
topics such as best agricultural practices, post-harvest handling and business
management. Through partnerships with NGOs, the private sector and other
UN agencies such as FAO and IFAD, P4P has supported smallholder farmers
with the necessary skills, information and technology to transform the way they
market their produce, directly accessing commercial markets and selling
aggregated quantities of high quality crops to increase income. P4P has been
implemented in six of Zambia’s ten provinces.
Background
Approximately 72 percent of Zambia’s national workforce is employed
in the agricultural sector. The sector is characterised by cyclical
surplus and deficit years, dependent upon weather patterns that
affect maize production. The country’s productive capacity varies,
with some parts of Zambia consistently experiencing food deficits
despite an overall national surplus.
QUICK FACTS
Project start date:
November 2009
Number of farmers’ organizations
(FOs): 96
Number of members:
9,337 (44% women)
Lessons so Far
To draw lessons and measure the impact of the five-year pilot, P4P continues to
monitor and evaluate the project, revealing a number of achievements and
challenges.
Achievements

Equipment: Access to time- and labour-saving equipment such as
tractors, cattle and mechanical shellers has enabled smallholder farmers to
increase yields thanks to early land preparation and because they are able to
cultivate more land. Lead farmers are able to service the loans on their
tractors by providing tillage services to other smallholders, who are in turn
able to increase production.

Gender: P4P and partners carried out gender sensitization training, which
led 10 FOs to create strategies to increase women’s participation,
particularly in the decision-making process. As a result, in the district of
Kawambwa the proportion of women selling beans to WFP increased from
14 % in 2012 to 49 % in 2013.

“Pass it on”: 30 women farmers have received draft cattle as part of a
“pass on the gift” programme run by Heifer International, in which the
animals’ offspring are passed on to other women farmers. The cattle have
been used as draft power as well as a source of milk for improved nutrition.

Capacity development: A Training of Trainers (ToT) programme has
been administered through the Kasisi Agriculture Training centre (KATC) to
develop smallholder capacity in post-harvest handling and legume
production. During the last quarter of 2013, the 57 ToT participants then
trained some 6,700 farmers.

Infrastructure: A warehouse with a 500 mt capacity was constructed in
Kasamanda and has served as a hub where communities can access
information, storage facilities, inputs and processing units. It has also
provided an incentive for the private sector to buy from smallholders, with
five firms pledged to buy during 2014.
Sales to WFP:
US$ 11,349,609 (38,374 mt)
Sales to other markets:
An estimated US$ 24,844 (84 mt)
Main commodities:
Maize, beans, cowpeas and processed
foods
Main P4P activities
 Smallholder productivity



Group marketing
Market development
Policy environment
Funding
P4P’s technical and administrative costs
in Zambia are sponsored by the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID. All
food purchases are financed by donations
to WFP’s regular operations.
Figures as of March 2014
For more information
wfp.p4p@wfp.org
Last update: August 2014
P4P - ZAMBIA

Collective marketing: FO capacity for collective marketing has been
improved through training in business skills, as well as the promotion of
aggregation centres. Pulses used in the Home Grown School Feeding
(HGSF) programme are purchased from these aggregation centres,
providing farmers with an incentive to use them.
Challenges
After her husband’s death, Rosa
Michelo wasn’t sure whether she would
be able to provide for her six children.
But thanks to the two draft cattle she
received through P4P partner Heifer
International, she was able to more
effectively manage her time and
increase her yields while caring for her
family.
“Look at my maize field,” she
says, “Out of faith, I planted this
maize and for the first time in so
many years, it was planted in
good time and I can expect a good
harvest!”
KEY PARTNERS
 Adventist Development and Relief
Agency (ADRA)
 Alliance for Commodity Trade in
Eastern and Southern Africa
 Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO)
 Heifer International
 International Fund for Agriculture
Development (IFAD)

Infrastructure: Despite efforts to improve infrastructure, many
smallholders still lack access to adequate storage facilities at affordable
rates. Due to poor road quality, it remains difficult for the private sector to
access the rural areas where many smallholders are located.

Post-harvest losses: Though great improvements in post-harvest
handling have been made, further capacity development is required to
reduce losses.

Sustainability: Further efforts are needed to link smallholder farmers to
broader markets through commodity exchanges and the Warehouse Receipt
System.

Access to credit: Smallholder farmers require further training in financial
literacy and stronger links to financial institutions in order to facilitate their
access to credit.
Partnerships
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) has been a key P4P partner,
providing extension services and training in collective marketing and business
skills. P4P-supported women farmers in the Mazabuka and Kawambwa districts
were provided with cattle by Heifer International. Gender sensitization within
P4P-supported FOs is carried out through the Kawambwa District Farmers
Organizations (KDFA) and Young Women Christian Association (YWCA).
Through partnership with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency
(ADRA) linkages between smallholders and the private sector are strengthened,
through the provision of warehouses as well as training in post-harvest handling
and soya production. FAO has provided capacity development and
infrastructure through an initiative intended to scale up conservation
agriculture. Private sector company NWK services (ex Dunavant) manages a
revolving fund for the replacement of tractors.
Read more about
WFP in Zambia
Draft animals assist women
Smallholder farmers flourish
Equipment assists farming
communities
 Kasisi Agriculture Training Centre
(KATC)
 Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
(MAL)
 Musika
 NWK AGRI - Services (Ex Dunavant)
 Production, Finance and Improved
Technology Plus (PROFIT+)
 World Vision
WFP ACTIVITIES IN ZAMBIA
In Zambia, WFP supports the government, strengthening its capacity to
provide social safety nets to assist poor and hungry households. WFP is
also committed to purchasing Zambian-grown commodities for food
assistance interventions in the country and the region. Commodities
purchased from P4P-supported smallholder farmers are being used in
WFP’s Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme in all
implementation districts. This has catalysed increased productivity and
production among local farmers, thereby increasing their food security
and incomes, as WFP provides an assured market for their produce.
 ZAMACE
For more information
wfp.p4p@wfp.org
Last update: August 2014