Zambia

Improved Fish Processing Brings Dramatic Gains for Women

By Friday Phiri
Fishing is the capture of aquatic organisms in marine, coastal and inland areas. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), marine and inland fisheries, together with aquaculture, provide food, nutrition and a source of income to 820 million people around the world, from harvesting, processing, marketing and distribution. For many, it also forms part of their traditional cultural identity.

Southern Africa’s Marshall Plan to Stop Voracious Crop Worm

By Busani Bafana
Southern African countries have agreed on a multi-pronged plan to increase surveillance and research to contain the fall army worm, which has cut forecast regional maize harvests by up to ten percent, according to a senior U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) official.

Insurance: A Valuable Incentive for Small Farmers’ Climate Resilience

By Friday Phiri
Frequent extreme weather and climate shifts pose a challenge to already vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers in the developing world. Between 2004 and 2014, farmers are said to have endured the brunt of the 100-billion-dollar cost of climate-related disasters.

From Research to Entrepreneurship: Fishing Youth and Women out of Poverty

By Friday Phiri
Ivy Nyambe Inonge, 35, is the treasurer of Mbeta Island Integrated Fish Farm in Senanga district. Her group won the first prize in Zambia under the Cultivate Africa’s Future (CultiAF)  Expanding Business Opportunities for African Youth in Agricultural Value Chains in Southern Africa. She is excited at the prospect of what 5,000 dollars can do for her group, and ultimately, the whole community of Mbeta Island.

Zambia’s Armyworm Outbreak: Is Climate Change to Blame?

By Friday Phiri
Surrender Hamufuba of Mwanamambo village in Pemba district recalls how he battled Armyworms in 2012. Fast-forward to 2016 and it is a similar story -- another pest infestation on an even larger scale.

Building Africa’s Energy Grid Can Be Green, Smart and Affordable

By Friday Phiri
It’s just after two p.m. on a sunny Saturday and 51-year-old Moses Kasoka is seated outside the grass-thatched hut which serves both as his kitchen and bedroom.

World Farmers’ Organisation Meeting Eyes New Markets, Fresh Investment

By Friday Phiri
‘No Farmer, No Food’ is an old slogan that the Zambia National Farmers’ Union still uses. Some people consider it a cliché, but it could be regaining its place in history as agriculture is increasingly seen as the answer to a wide range of the world’s critical needs such as nutrition, sustainable jobs and income for the rural poor.

WFP’s Chief Calls for Support for Those Most Vulnerable to Climate Change

By Friday Phiri
With El Nino affecting countries in southern Africa, threatening agricultural production due to a massive heat wave, the World Food Programme has urged the international community to support the upscaling of climate smart agricultural technology for resilience.

Detained, Female and Dying: Why Prisons Must Treat Women’s Health Needs

By Jo Baker
It is a grim fact that prisoners in most countries suffer from poorer health than non-prisoners, and that their right to health is not always protected. But for certain groups these rights can be even more elusive. Such is the case for women.

Hail to the Cowpea: a Blue Ribbon for the Black-Eyed Pea

By Nteranya Sanginga
2016 is the International Year of Pulses, and we at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture are proud to be organizing what promises to be the landmark event, the Joint World Cowpea and Pan-African Grain Legume Research Conference.

Opinion: Ending Child Marriage – What Difference Can a Summit Make?

By Samuel Musyoki
The long-awaited African Girls’ Summit on Ending Child Marriage is here.

Analysis: Are Young People the Answer to Africa’s Food Security?

By Busani Bafana
Are you young, energetic, creative, ambitious and need a job? Africa's agriculture sector needs you!

Where Technology and Medicine Meet in Rural Zambia

By James Jeffrey
When health officer Kennedy Mulenga was faced with a male patient developing breasts at the remote Ngwerere Clinic 30km north of the Zambian capital, Lusaka, he logged onto Virtual Doctors to get help solving the medical mystery.

Improved Post-Harvest Fish Handling Brings Hope to Western Zambia

By Friday Phiri
Hadon Sichali has been in the fish trade for over 22 years. But he says only now does he feel a true businessman—but why?

Financial Inclusion Key to Climate Risk Reduction for Zambia’s Smallholders

By Friday Phiri
In the advent of unpredictable weather, smallholder rain-dependent agriculture is increasingly becoming a risky business and the situation could worsen if, as seems likely, the world experiences levels of global warming that could lead to an increase in droughts, floods and diseases, both in frequency and intensity.

Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Pledge Resonates in Far-Off Zambia

By Lisa Vives
Nigeria’s president-elect is already making waves with his pledge to attack corruption, starting with the missing 20 billion dollars allegedly swiped from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation during the previous administration.

U.N. Panel to Investigate Dag Hammarskjöld’s Death

By Valentina Ieri
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on Monday, appointed an independent panel of experts to examine new information that has emerged from the investigation into the death of former U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld. 

SMS for Healthy, AIDS-Free Babies

By Lyndal Rowlands and Mercedes Sayagues
In rural Zambia and Malawi, new mums face long delays finding out if they have passed HIV on to their babies.

OPINION: People with Disabilities Must Be Counted in the Fight Against HIV

By Rashmi Chopra
Jane is a young Zambian mother with a physical disability in Lusaka, who uses a wheelchair to get around. She does not let clinics without ramps or without wheelchair accessible toilets and equipment stop her from claiming her right to health care, including HIV prevention services.

Rare Zambian Tree Faces Exploitation Because of Legal Loophole

By Piliro Phiri

Steven Nyambose used to sell charcoal for a living until he discovered that the trees could be more lucrative in another way - through cutting them down and selling the logs to international buyers.

Zambia’s Cash Transfer Schemes Cushion Needy Against Climate Shocks

By Friday Phiri
“Last season, I lost an entire hectare of groundnuts because of a prolonged drought. Groundnuts are my hope for income,” says Josephine Chaaba, 60, from Pemba district in southern Zambia.
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