a new home in lusaka

24 Musi Rd., New Kamwala, Lusaka, Zambia

It's been over a month since I moved back to the capital city from Pemba. While it's great to be back in an urban setting, it's not the easiest task to find a decent place to live in Lusaka. Recently, My EWB colleague, Robert Borzychowski, and I found a fairly decent 2-bedroom house in the predominantly Zambian neighbourhood (what I mean by this is that it is made up of locals, not foreigners) of New Kamwala (near Kamwala market). Last Thursday we went out to the Kalingalinga neighbourhood in northeastern Lusaka to purchase some custom made furniture (for a fairly cheap price here in Zambia!).

This neighbourhood is very quaint, friendly, with little shops along the way that sells vegetables, fruits, junk food, laundry detergent, you name it. However; the roads are absolutely awful. Now that it is rainy season, the unpaved roads (formerly paved once upon a time in the 70's) are filled with potholes and giant puddles the size of a lake (I'm exaggerating... but it's still bad). The Zambian government just doesn't have enough money to frequently maintain roads; especially ones in residential neighbourhoods.

We also managed to throw a Chinese New Year / Valentine's Day / Housewarming party. Almost 20 people came over and had a blast! We served Chinese hot pot, had jam sessions, alcohol-sachet boat races, and just great times with great folks.

I must say it feels great to have a base and a place to call home after a long day at work.

Our neighbourhood of New Kamwala

My room

Our living room

My roommate / EWB colleague Rob, preparing Chinese hot pot for our Chinese New Year / housewarming party.

Chinese New Year party jam session

Chilling in our front porch.

my new placement: CARE International-Zambia's ADAPT Project

Agro-dealer named Charity in Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia standing in front of her inventory.

After 3 months of field experience with IDE in Pemba, I'm ready to start something new and challenging. Based on my work experience, my strengths, and interests, EWB decided to pair me up with CARE International-Zambia's ADAPT Project. The acronym, ADAPT, stands for "Agro-dealer Project".
The problem
Smallholder farmers in remote areas lack access to affordable agricultural inputs, such as fertilizer, seeds, and agrochemicals such as herbicides and pesticides. Most smallholder farmers lack reliable and affordable transport and may have to travel at least 50 km to the nearest town centre to access the agric inputs that are necessary to ensure a successful yield in crops.

CARE ADAPT's solution
CARE-Zambia's ADAPT is a 3 year project aimed at increasing access to affordable intputs through the establishment of a network of rural input agrodealers and distributors in the Central, Eastern, and Copperbelt provinces. CARE ADAPT field staff recruits, trains and certifies agro-dealers in rural neighbourhoods. ADAPT field staff help these agro-dealers build capacity by giving them business (i.e. marketing) and technical training (i.e. agrochemical handling). Furthermore, as facilitators, ADAPT field staff organize demand-creation activities, such as field days and seed fairs, to link stakeholders, such as farmers, agro-dealers, and input suppliers.

A new approach to development
Unlike other CARE projects, ADAPT is unique in that it adopts a market value-chain facilitation approach. Activities in traditional NGO agricultural projects come in the form of direct service delivery to smallholder farmers (like what I did with IDE). A Market Facilitation approach addresses overall system constraints by adjusting activities and intervention practices that are in line with the dynamic nature of markets. In traditional projects, NGO's directly intervene by providing farmers with inputs and services (e.g. WorldVision giving away seeds to farmers for free) thus risking the distortion of market realities. In a market facilitation approach, the NGO takes on a neutral role, as a facilitator, and catalyzes linkages, adoption and ownership amongst value chain players; but does not become part of the chain nor interferes in market transactions. This approach is the heart of our focus in the Agriculture Values Chains team at Engineers Without Borders. We only partner with organizations and projects that adopts this approach and with those who envision market-based solutions to development in impoverished nations.

My role as EWB Africa Project Staff
Effective market facilitation requires new organizational capacities and management approaches. To assist with developing these capacities, I will be supporting the ADAPT team in two major management capacity building areas:the development of implementation-level monitoring and evaluation system (M&E) in order to gather relevant information and thus support improved decision making for day-to-day management; and offering on-going support to upgrade staff skills as market facilitators in the form of business training. As an M&E advisor, I will need to strike a fine balance between capacity building for existing staff and gap-filling due to the lack of time and human resources. As an external advisor, I will have to balance between the the needs and demands of various stakeholders at different levels (field staff --> project management --> national office --> international office --> donor), and the practical needs of system design.

Outside Charity's agro-dealer shop in Kapiri-Mposhi, Zambia

Another agro-dealer shop in Kapiri-Mposhi, Zambia

zambia's national fertilizer program: a political cancer

(left to right) Dennis Sunanibamba (Pemba region cooperative leader), Willard, myself, and my host father Silas Muzuma (the other Pemba region cooperative leader) sitting on government subsidized fertilizer waiting to be picked up by local smallholder farmers (December 2009)

Agricultural inputs, such as fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides/herbicides, are critical to crop production. These fertilizers are expensive and sometimes hard to access. Because agriculture plays such a backbone and critical role in the economic well-being of southern Africa and in the livelihoods of its people, various national governments enacted an input subsidy program.

The case of Malawi
In the neighbouring country of Malawi, for instance, in 1998 the national government started a subsidy program to respond to increased food deficits, increased maize prices, and reliance on food aid and food imports. The Malawi subsidy program went through two critical transformations to continuously improve the program. The first program distributed small packages of fertilizer and maize seeds to smallholder farmers for free. This saw a temporary increase in production across the nation but only to result in failure later on due to program inefficiencies, the lack of targeting toward the poorest of the poorest, and the creation of negative impact toward crop diversification. With the slide back to reliance on food aid, the national government decided to turn program efficiency around 180 degrees by engaging in the private sector through a voucher system. By 2006 and 2007, Malawi experienced two years of great harvests. While the situation is far from perfect in Malawi, is the case in Zambia anywhere near as rosie? Not in the least .

Zambian political cancer
While living in Pemba during rainy season (November and December 2009), my planned facilitation activities were greatly disturbed. Farmers were busy preparing their fields and trying to secure agricultural inputs and had no time to attend NGO-workshops. Why should it consume majority of smallholder farmers time? Should subsidy programs be more simple, quick and easy? It's definitely not the case in Zambia. The Zambian Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACCO) subsidizes 60% of the cost of a 4x50 kg bag (2 x pack of basal dressing, 2 x pack of top dressing) of fertilizer. In order to be eligible for fertilizer subsidies, smallholder farmers need to be part of a co-operative. Within the cooperative, every year in late November/early December (beginning of rainy season), farmers pay their cooperative leaders the remaining 40% of fertilizer costs and have to fill out a wad of paperwork. On behalf of the smallholder farmers, the cooperative leaders then have to travel to a nearby town (sometimes as afar as 100 km away), with all the forms and money, book their own transportation, stand in HUGE line ups, and if they are lucky, will they then receive the government funded fertilizer on the same day. If not, the cooperative leaders have to pay for accommodations out of their own pocket. This process may take up to a week before the coop leaders receive all the fertilizer. Imagine... farmer cooperative leaders from all parts of the surrounding area travel to the same depot for pick-up. It tends to be chaotic and disorganized (refer to image below). Once the cooperative leaders receive all that was requested and paid for, they have to travel back home with their rented flat bed trucks filled with the goods. Once at home, cooperative leaders will either distribute the fertilizer or have a pick up depot in the center of town.

In the past, instead of having co-op leaders travel, the government would instead deliver the fertilizer to local depots. Unfortunately with this arrangement, fertilizer would mysteriously "disappear" en route. This is government corruption at its best. Farmers have complained, NGO's have raised concerns, but with a unreliable law enforcement system, nothing has been done to fix this extremely inefficient and corrupt process.

Outreach is also dismal. Pemba has approximately 4000 farmers. Only around 250 of those belong to co-operatives. Out of the 250, only 60% receive this elusive government subsidy. Furthermore, there is no separation between those who are vulnerable and those who are not. This results in extreme corruption and the fertilizer getting into the wrong hands and those who actually don't need it.

Their refusal to budge from the status quo, despite its inefficiencies and being plagued with corruption, allows government members to use the fertilizer subsidy program to maintain the power to swindle and a public presence amongst Zambian citizens.

Alternative solutions
How do you weed out corruption? How do you make the program more efficient? The answer lies in the private sector. When the profit bottom-line is introduced, unnecessary red-tape and corruption can be sieved out. Instead of distributing the fertilizer themselves, the government should allow the process to be run through the market system, by providing citizens with vouchers. Zambian smallholder farmers will then be able to redeem these vouchers through local agro-dealers and input distributors. Not only will the government be able to maintain its presence amongst the people, but it also allows for the strengthening of the local economy through the support of private small-medium enterprises in rural communities all over Zambia. Furthermore, with the increasing use and reliance on mobile phones, even amongst smallholder farmers in the most remote parts of the country, the option of mobile transfer of funds or mobile vouchers is definitely viable.

So what is the government waiting for? The Zambian government doesn't want change. They fear change will bring about the loss of control over a highly coveted system that is rich for swindling and a system that manages to hold majority of Zambian's population by their necks. Unless Zambia elects new leaders, external from the old-guard that has lead the nation since the 1960's independence era, this inefficient political cancer will continue to plague the nation for years to come.

Hundreds of farmers waiting at a depot in Monze, Zambia to receive government subsidized fertilizer

farewell pemba... see you soon

Willard and I in front of the office

Working with Willard at IDE has been a wonderful experience. I wouldn't have gotten through these past 4 months without his support. He is one of the most easy-going and most patient people I have ever met. When I would be frustrated about things, Willard would be there to pick me back up. During weekends, he would welcome me into his home to spend time with him and his family (those rascal little kids). Thanks Willard for a great 3 months. (The man needs a promotion)

Field work isn't easy; especially when the amount of output is so small compared to the amount of time, energy, and effort put into it. Despite the frustrations, I fully understand and truly believe in it's value and the importance of getting it right. It is in the field where the actual interactions with beneficiaries take place. It is in the field where smallholder farmers learn and grow. I will try my utmost best to bring these lessons that I have learned to my work with CARE-International's ADAPT project come January.

Me facilitating a farmer workshop

Willard's son Chinyanta (on top of me), and his niece and nephew.

last week with the family

On Sunday, 20th of December, I'll be moving back to Lusaka in preparation for my next placement with CARE International. These past 3 months in the village have been one of the most humbling and most valuable life experiences. When I arrived in October, I immediately felt at home. The Muzuma family is wonderful and the food they cook is absolutely delectable. I am really going to miss them.

This past week, my host father has taught me so many things about life, about hard work and about nurturing those who are trying hard to succeed in a complicated environment. At 73, his level of energy and alertness has completely blown me away.

Despite the language barrier, my senior host mother (Mr. Muzuma's first wife), definitely took care of me like I was one of their own. Her, and Mrs. Muzuma Jr.'s ability to manage a gigantic family is absolutely beyond me.

I will definitely be back a few times to visit the family within the next 8 months.

Silas Muzuma

Noria Muzuma (Sr. wife)

Albetina Muzuma (Jr. wife)

Banene - the funniest grandmother!

Me a few of the kids

Lunch at the Muzuma's

Host father preparing his field of Irish potatoes

Me with the junior wife's side of the family

Dinner with the Muzuma's

Pre-dinner warming up

Mrs. Muzuma junior cleaning the residuals from the wheat

born to be wild

My sweet ride in Pemba. I'll miss that motorbike.

frog infestation... kermit's not so cute anymore

So after a week of meetings in Lusaka, I come home to my hut only to find a family of frogs lounging around my stuff. Now, these frog don't bother humans and prefer to hide in dark areas. Normally, I would just scurry them out of my hut. But yet they kept coming back. Some nights I would be startled when my garbage bag would start moving, only to find pesky little Kermit inside.

My host father, Silas, says these frogs have a tendency to attract snakes. Snakes?! No thank you! So he taught me how to whack'em. At first, I was like "ooooo poor froggie"... but after they kept returning, I showed no mercy. I think I'll be set for those carnival "whack-a-mole" games when I return to Canada.