DAPP Zambia Agriculture and Climate Change Adaptation Projects implement activities under the agriculture and climate change adaptation projects in the Southern and Eastern Provinces. Over 23,000 rural farmers, organized in 577 farmers’ clubs, participated in activities under all six intervention areas hereunder conservation agriculture, weather-based index insurance, savings for change, access to agricultural loans, market access, and access to climatic services. Towards the end of the reporting period, the Farmers’ Clubs Project in Southern Province received a boost after securing additional new 2-year funding focused on enhancing farmers’ linkage to markets under the program “Farmer to Market Alliance”. The program in Eastern Province has a solid element of nutrition reaching pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent children in schools.
During 2022, the project worked with 13 thousand of farmer families organized in 312 Farmers’ Clubs. A total of 10 thousand farmers applied nutrients in their fields to enhance productivity through sustaining plant health. The project recorded twelve thousand farmers who planted and diversified into growing many other crops such as soya beans, sweet potatoes, sunflowers, and maize. Further, a total of 10,516 farmers from 20 camps received the rainfall information on time during the period under review, this information was put to good use by farmers in planning farm activities.
During the same period on average 5,200 pregnant and lactating mothers attended the growth monitoring exercise every month. Further to pregnant and lactating mothers attending growth monitoring exercises, 4,000 homes were visited by Nutrition Champions (volunteers) with a view to sharing messages on health and hygiene.
The project also worked in 54 schools working with one health club per school. Activities included conducting training on Health Diet Campaign to 104 Social Health Network (SHN) Coordinators and Headteachers and further supporting the management of 27 school gardens managed by School SHN members.