BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
@SunZambian
A PROJECT that will create an economic partnership agreement between small scale farmers and the private sector in Zambia has been launched by the Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA)
SAFADA director Boyd Moobwe said the Family Farmer Advancement Support initiative would gather digitized quality family farming from all over the world, including regulations, public policies, best practices, relevant data and statistics, researches and publications.
Mr Moobwe in an interview said the organisation was currently conducting a feasibility study on possibilities to establish an agriculture center of excellence in Zambia to educate low cost family farmers and demonstrate appropriate technology.
“The Family Farming Knowledge Platform provides a single access point for international, regional and national information related to family farming issues; integrating existing information to better inform and provide knowledge-based assistance to policy-makers, family farmers, as well as to stakeholders in the field
Mr Moobwe said the platform was intended for a wide range of users, from Government officers to farmer organizations, from academia to civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), all of which needed access to qualified knowledge on family farming and related topics.
“Using this platform as a worldwide knowledge reference on family farming can assist policy makers and other stakeholders by facilitating policy discussion, policy design and decision making on family farming,” he said.
Mr Moobwe said easy online access to programmes, legislation, updated statistics, publications, lessons learned and initiatives fosters knowledge and information dissemination for concrete actions and policy making in support of family farming.
He said family farms produce more than 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms, confirming family farming’s central importance in world food security today and for future generations.
Mr Moobwe said public policies that recognize the diversity of the challenges faced by family farms was key to end hunger and achieve inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems.
He said it was the organization’s objective to contribute towards addressing the social and economic challenges facing small-scale farmers in Zambia.
