Heifer Empowers 270,000 Households

In the “Heifer In the News” section, you will find news coverage of Heifer International’s projects and programs, from a variety of media outlets.

This article appeared in the Zambia Daily Mail on Oct. 12, 2012.

From KALONDE NYATI AND ARTHUR MWANSA in Kabwe

About 270,000 households in five provinces have benefited from the Heifer International sustainable livelihood programme that seeks to provide vulnerable communities with livestock, agriculture inputs and training in agriculture production.

Heifer International chief operating officer Steve Denne said the programme, which is currently in Lusaka, Southern, Central, Eastern and Copperbelt provinces, is supporting livelihood projects through the provision of food and income-producing livestock.

Mr. Denne said this on Wednesday when his organisation handed over 44 dairy cattle to Balaka and Masengo women’s groups of Kabwe rural.

“The project aims to empower poor families to achieve sustainable livelihood through the promotion of intergrated livestock and cropping systems to generate sufficient food and income security,” he said.

He said vulnerable and small scale-farmers can attain sustainable and economic livelihood if their capacity is enhanced to increase household income through access to input credit schemes, market linkages, services and appropriate infrastructure.

Mr. Denne said he is happy that beneficiaries have increased income from milk sales and are realising an average of up to K1.5 million.

And Minister of Gender Inonge Wina urged the women groups and co-operatives that have benefited from Heifer International to be accountable in the project activities.

Ms. Wina said the government remains committed to supporting the agriculture and livestock sectors through the livestock restocking programme and construction of livestock service centres.

She said she is happy that the private sector such as Parmalat is supporting the small-scale dairy farmers in the country.

“This way, farmers will neither waste time in search of markets nor risk having their products going to waste, they instead invest more time on production and caring for their livestock,” she said.

At the same occasion, Balaka Women’s Club chairperson Mary Chirwa bemoaned the poor road network to markets saying there is need to improve road infrastructure in rural areas.

“We need a good road from Mukonchi road to Balaka community school and the site of the milk collection centre,” she said.

Ms. Chirwa also said there is need for clean water for the community and animals and to improve on tick control by providing spray-ress and dip tanks for the community to operate effectively.

She said her community, which received 40 pregnant cows and four bulls last year, said the herd has doubled and the community is able to produce about 200 litres of milk daily.