Goat Farming Provides Financial Independence to Struggling Rural Farmers.

 

In Zambia, the ever-growing climate crisis has been a cause of concern for many Zambian small-scale farmers. Many rely on the agricultural output to feed their families and sell any surplus to pay for school fees; toiletries; medicines and so on. Droughts and floods are becoming more frequent and making it difficult for farmers to yield successful crops.

The SCRALA project (Strengthening Climate Resilience of Agricultural Livelihoods in Agriculture) began working to provide small scale farmers with goats and training in goat-rearing as a means of alternative income.

The project has been supported by the UN, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), and WFP (World Food Programme). It has been funded by the GCF (Green Climate Fund), who have donated $32 million; the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture, who donated $103 million; $369,000 from WARMA (Water Resources Management Authorities) and $1.4 million from UNDP.  Such funding has led to a better livelihood for many rural Zambians, who cannot obtain loans from banks as they have little to no collateral to offer and are therefore viewed as high risk. Not to mention the scarcity of banks in rural Zambia.

The initiative has reached 8,000 people across Zambia, most being women. It provides them with tools to prevent disease, construct sheds and even manage breeding. It allows many women to find independence, creating a better standard of living with a wide ripple effect in the communities.

Sylvia Chiinda was earning about 300 Kwacha ($15) a month selling groceries after her husband sadly passed away. Through this project, she can now support her seven children. In one year, she has acquired 30 goats, ten of which have been sold and five given to other female goat farmers in need. She is using the 5000 Kwacha ($238) earned from selling her goats to pay for her children’s upkeep and school fees, as well as fertiliser. Sylvia plans to buy her own land in the future.

The initiative has positively affected other women across Zambia. Mpeza Phiri, aged 49 and a single mother to six, lives in the Luamba Agricultural Camp in eastern Zambia and claims that the project has given her family a steady income for the first time ever. Charity Lungu also lives in the Luamba Camp and has 4 children to support. She says she can finally send her children to school without them being hungry and can even afford to buy them school books and uniform!