Feeding into Zambia’s agri-food future: Chatham House fellowship influences national policy development

By Lauren Phillips, University of Leeds Though maize is a staple of the Zambian diet, it also contributes to the country’s high malnutrition rates, among the highest in the world. Aside from health consequences, reliance on maize also makes the country more susceptible to climate change. A combination of strong droughts and flash flooding wiped …

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Oil seeds strategy to grow farming jobs and income

By Happy Mulolani The Government of Zambia is facilitating the development of an Edible Oils Strategy to boost national oilseeds production and value addition. Zambia is currently relying on imported edible oils, which are killing the local industry, taking jobs and income from farmers. The Agricultural Consultative Forum (ACF), with support from the Food, Agriculture and …

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Research moves online as coronavirus lockdowns take effect

By Mantoe Phakathi The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations in South Africa and Zambia implementing the AFRICAP programme to change their strategies. Following the outbreak of the virus which has since been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), citizens were compelled to stay at home or avoid gathering in large groups in …

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Q&A: Soybean could be the new oil for smallholder farmers in Zambia

By Mantoe Phakathi Ndashe Kapulu, is a doctoral researcher at the University of Leeds, in the UK. He also works for the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia. Through his research study supported by AFRICAP, he is investigating how diversifying into soybean production will impact livelihoods and food security of smallholder households in Zambia, where maize …

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