The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation based in Liechtenstein committed to food security and sustainable agricultural development, today announced a new partnership with Self Help Africa (SHA) to implement a sustainable poultry production project that will contribute to enhanced food, skills, income and nutrition security of smallholder farming communities in Chongwe District of the Republic of Zambia.
The official project launch event took place at the AGCO Future Farm Zambia on Thursday, November 5, 2020, with 50 stakeholders in attendance from across the Zambia poultry and agricultural industry, government officials, journalists, farmer cooperatives, poultry associations and community leaders, including representatives of the Chongwe District’s Royal Highness Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II.
The poultry industry in Zambia is mostly dominated by small-scale farmers who depend on poultry as a social safety net, especially vulnerable households. Given the growing demand for poultry protein and global commitment towards improvement of animal welfare, it is pivotal to develop tailored projects and initiatives that address key issues and provide sustainable solutions to hunger and nutrition among marginalized farming communities.
“We understand the urgent need to support small-scale farmers in Zambia so that together we can improve production and address existing food and nutrition insecurities. Our foundation is thrilled to partner with Self Help Africa to implement a sustainable approach to enhance the knowledge, skills and practices of smallholders. Empowering the producers to improve their livestock management operations for economic and nutritional benefits will also highlight animal welfare practices for better treatment of farm animals across the value chain,” says Metti Richenhagen, Managing Director, AGCO Agriculture Foundation.
The AGCO Agriculture Foundation’s funding is geared towards increasing the productivity, skills, nutrition and income of 100 poultry farmers in the Chongwe district of Zambia and 50 female poultry farmers from the identified women’s groups.
“Supporting small-scale farmers to end hunger and poverty in rural Africa remains our key focus, and we are excited to work with the AGCO Agriculture Foundation to strengthen this zero hunger commitment. With the prevalence of hunger and nutrition insecurity in the targeted Chongwe district, which has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are optimistic about the timely intervention the project will bring towards sustainable poultry production,” says Elia Manda, Zambia Country Director, Self Help Africa.
The project will be implemented in conjunction with the AGCO Future Farm in Zambia to provide training support for the project beneficiaries.
“Our agricultural training facility will play a key role to facilitate knowledge and skills transfer for farmers on best livestock management practices required to boost productivity and income. We will work with our Grain & Protein business unit to support selected farmers on improved animal welfare and livestock management operations,” adds Kalongo Chitengi, Senior Manager, AGCO Future Farm.
About the AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF)
The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), initiated by AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) in 2018, is a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger. The foundation initiates impactful programs that support food security, foster sustainable agricultural development and build needed agricultural infrastructure in marginalized farming communities. AAF is domiciled in Vaduz, Liechtenstein and operations are managed from Duluth, Georgia, USA. For more information, please visit https://www.
About Self Help Africa (SHA)
Self Help Africa is a registered charity organization in England and Wales with no. 298830 and a company limited by guarantee no. 02226352. SHA has 50 years of experience working in smallholder farmer-led agriculture and agri-enterprise in nine countries across East, Southern and West Africa. SHA supports smallholder farmers to build sustainable, healthy and resilient livelihoods through; knowledge and skills transfer, facilitating innovation, enabling engagement in profitable value chains and enterprises, and support access to finance for investment in future development. For more information, please visit https://selfhelpafrica.org/uk/
