Best Practices & Innovations (BPI) Initiative

Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods

Women Farmers building community resilience

through harnessing crops and livestock
Structure of presentation

1. Zambia
2. Heifer International
Zambia
3. Miyoba Project
 Background
 Project interventions
 Project success
 Lessons leant and
challenges

4. Now What?
 COUNTRY PROGRAM LOCATION

Zambia
 COUNTRY PROGRAM LOCATION
Total Population 11.9 million
(51% women)
Annual population Growth 1.6 %
GDP $931
People depending on Agriculture 75%
(80% women)
National Poverty incidence 68 %
(53% Urban, 78% rural)
HIV/AIDS prevalence 14%
Life Expectancy 41 years
Literacy rates Men: 82% , Women: 60%
 Heifer Zambia Program
 Operating since 1988
 Great achievement - Heifer has directly
supported more than 7,000 households in 5
provinces
 80% of project participants/ beneficiaries
are women farmers
 Partners include:
Ministry of Agriculture and
cooperatives
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries
Ministry of community development
Ministry of Gender
NGOs
Farmer organizations
 TYPES OF PROJECTS

DRAFT CATTLE SMALL HOLDER DAIRY

CATTLE

BEEKEEPING

MEAT GOATS DAIRY GOATS

 Background to the Miyoba project
• 1n 1990s:
 Out break of East Coast fever
 Privatization of veterinary services
 Drought of the 1990’s
• Wiping out Livestock
• Men migrated to cities in search for better
opportunities
• Agriculture production depended on Women
labor
• All the above resulted in:
 Over burdening of women
 Lower production and productivity
 Environment degradation
Miyoba
 Increased household food insecurity and
vulnerability
 Loss of resilience
Objectives of the Project
The overall goal of this
project is to build economic
and environmental resilience
through interlinked
objectives;
enabling the community to
achieve economic self-reliance
building the capacity of women
farmers and accessing them to
productive resources;
promoting agro-ecological
farming and improve soil
fertility
 Project Interventions

• Good participatory
assessment
• Gender analysis and training
• Strong partnership
• Training and capacity
building
• Introduction of women
farmers’ friendly technology
• Allocation of resources –
livestock, vet kit, etc
• Establishment of functional
leadership systems
 Highlights of Success

- Multiplied success through Passing

On the Gifts (POG)
- Reduction of workload
- Assets generation
- Food security
- Cash income-from diversified
sources
- Ability to send girl and boy
children
- Increased participation in
community development
Success –Empowerment of women

- Self image and pride

- Value for women’s contribution
- Decision making power
- Fair share of resources and benefits as
women own and control
- Women are listened to
- Stereotyping of asset ownership and
control changed
 Success–spin-offs

- Availability and accessibility of food to

the wider community
- Contribution to solving community
problems –OVC
- Establishment of kindergartens for the
community
- Collective initiative to fight poverty in
their community
- Creation of employment for
community members
- Community resilience to disaster
 Lessons learnt
• Good listening and relationship building with
the community
• Participatory assessment and gender analysis
• Work with extension systems
• community leadership
• Appropriate training targeted to women
• diversification for building resilience
• User friendly technology
• Stress on the animals
• Recurrent drought adversely affect water /feed
availability
 NOW WHAT?

• Country program is replicating.

• Other NGO adopting
• Government has adopted our approach
• Evidence based advocacy for policy change

In conclusion, if women are given the right resources, tools and

skills without doubt they will attain food security and build
self reliance and resilience to shock.
THANKS FOR LISTENING AND GREETINGS
FROM ZAMBIA BENEFICIARIES