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Quenching the thirst

Irrigating the farmlands of Zambia

September 18^th, 2014

Coping with floods and drOughts

In Zambia, agriculture accounts for 20% of the country’s GDP, and the output feeds over half of its population. In recent years, unreliable rainfall has caused frequent, intensive floods or droughts, which strike hard on Zambia’s rain-fed farmland. Extreme weather threatens millions of hectares of rain-fed farms and the livelihoods of many pastoral nomadic groups.

Esther Lodo lives in Siavonga, Southeast Zambia, where there are extreme fluctuations in rainfall. It has made it hard for her to make ends meet in the past. These days, she is equipped with new agricultural techniques, improved seeds and new types of crops. Okras, tomatoes and cowpeas helps to pay for a university education for Ms. Lodo’s two daughters.

Mapping out the needs

Zambia addresses its significant and frequent climate challenges through the ‘National Adaptation Programmes of Action’, a programme set up to provide a process for Least Developed Countries to identify activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs to adapt to climate change. Based on the findings, UNDP is supporting Zambia to improve the lives of people in eight vulnerable regions in the country. Villages in these eight regions use a range of different types of agriculture - diverse crops, water harvesting technologies as well as alternative activities to generate income.

In Siavonga, extreme rainfall fluctuations, overgrazing, overcropping and deforestation have left the land bare and dry. Many endemic woody and grass species that were once dominant have now completely disappeared. Now, many places have set up automated weather stations to improve the forecasting of cropping seasons. These stations also act as early warning systems for communities that are vulnerable to flooding and other longer term climate change challenges. A new irrigation system has been established to extract water from wells using solar pumps. Two 5000-litre water tanks with taps running at regular intervals benefit 14 households. One farmer has increased his maize crop from 18 bags to 29 bags in one season.

UNDP also encourages farmers to pass on their produce and training to two more people, which has helped to increase the productivity in the whole village.

A small dam has been constructed by the project to harvest rainwater, recharge the aquifer and irrigate farmlands during dry seasons. The dam is now managed by a local community of village elders, farmers, men and women to provide water source for 2,640 people.

Farmers’ lives are changing for the better with more output. They have ditched traditional thatched roofs and mud walls in favour of houses made of brick and metal sheet.

Training is provided to help farmers care for their livestock better. Farmers also learn about vaccinations, nutrition, as well as building goat-rearing huts on stilts to prevent floods so that the animals are healthier and therefore more profitable.

Beekeeping and goat rearing have improved people’s income and food security. It has allowed Mr. Dolo to pay for his children’s school fees and buy 30 buckets of maize, which fed his family of nine for three months.

Rice, a flood resistant crop, has been taken up by farmers to increase income. A 1.2 hectare farm can produce 50 bags of rice and sell for USD $18,000 compared to USD $3,500 USD for the same amount of maize.

The success of Zambia lies with the villagers themselves. Villages have their own committees: they meet regularly, the members are in charge of carrying out activities and identifying new priorities. This sense of ownership has pushed the project forward. Zambia’s climate change adaptation project has been running since 2011. It is funded by the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund with UNDP’s support in implementing the project.