CEO’s Visit Serves to Further Strengthen Food Security Efforts in Zambia and Wider Southern Africa Region
19 September 2024, Zambia: CABI CEO Dr Daniel Elger paid a visit to CABI’s regional centre for Southern Africa in Lusaka, Zambia, to help further strengthen partnerships for greater food security in the country and wider region as part of its Medium-Term Strategy 2023-2025.
Dr Elger, welcomed by Dr Natasha Mwila, CABI’s newly appointed Regional Director for Southern Africa and Dr Noah Phiri, Regional Advisor and former Regional Director, visited the centre to strengthen partnerships, explore synergies, and align CABI’s work with Zambia’s national agricultural priorities.
The visit also provided Dr Elger an opportunity to connect with key stakeholders, including government officials, academic institutions, and youth agripreneurs. His presence in Zambia highlighted CABI’s long-standing commitment to addressing agricultural challenges and supporting sustainable development in Southern Africa.
Such challenges include Zambia and much of the Southern Africa region currently grappling with drought as well as pest and disease outbreaks, for example, fall armyworm and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD).
Empowering Zambia’s women and youth
CABI’s current work in Zambia, for example, includes empowering the country’s youth to establish businesses in the sustainable biocontrol of the fall armyworm pest as well as working towards a Soil Information System (SIS) for the country.
Staff from the CABI’s regional centre for Southern Africa have also been engaging with women – through participatory videos – to tackle, with environmentally friendly biological control agents, the fall armyworm, which can devastate maize crops if left untreated.
Recent CABI-led research has also recommended a public-private partnership approach to open access to high-quality niche markets to help improve the livelihoods of smallholder fruit and vegetable producers in Rwanda and Zambia.
Dr Elger first met with colleagues at CABI’s regional centre for Southern Africa where he was updated on work regarding the fall armyworm and cassava brown streak disease as well as the progress of CABI’s flagship food security programme, PlantwisePlus, in Zambia and Malawi.
The team also shared updates on other projects being implemented in the region including work with Malawi to establish a digital plant health service at national level, supported by NORAD, and work with Namibia and FAO to develop ePlant Clinics, among other projects in the region.
While at the centre, Dr Elger visited the laboratory facilities and saw the scientific work being done to develop locally appropriate nature-based solutions under an ACIAR-supported project advocating the village-based biological control of fall armyworm.
He then, joined by Dr Mwila and Dr Phiri, held a meeting with Her Excellency Chileshe Kapwepwe, Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Chair of the CABI Board, to discuss CABI’s vision for the regional centre for Africa. This included a focus on the centre’s critical role in driving agricultural development in Zambia and across COMESA member countries.
The following day, Dr Elger visited the University of Zambia (UNZA), where he met with Professor Thomson H. Kalinda, the Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences, Dr Kennedy Zimba, the Head of Crop Science Department, and Dr Paul Kachapulula, Senior Lecturer and immediate former Head of Crop Science Department.
They discussed enhancing research collaborations, particularly in relation to the ACIAR project concerning the village-based biological control of fall armyworm. The visit also included a tour of UNZA’s laboratory facilities, where CABI-led projects funded by ACIAR have made recent renovations that support advanced agricultural research.
Aligning activities with Zambia’s national systems, policies, and strategies
Dr Elger had the opportunity to meet with Hon. Reuben Mtolo Phiri, Zambia’s Minister of Agriculture, in the presence of Dr Dickson N’guni, the Director of Zambia Agriculture Institute (ZARI), Dr Ndashe Kapulu, Assistant director at ZARI, and Mr Oscar Chita, Acting Director Department of Policy and Planning, all under the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). The discussion focussed on aligning CABI’s activities with Zambia’s national systems, policies, and strategies.
Minister Mtolo Phiri praised CABI’s work and highlighted the international support that CABI offers to Zambia’s agricultural sector. He also emphasized the importance of continuing and growing this partnership, particularly in addressing food security challenges through sustainable agricultural practices.
On the final day, Dr Elger had a meeting with Ms Etambuyu Anamela Gundersen, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) of the Government of Zambia.
Dr Mwila led the discussions, providing an overview of CABI’s projects and the role of the regional centre for Southern Africa in addressing key agricultural challenges.
Reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting its work
The Permanent Secretary acknowledged CABI’s valuable research contributions and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting its work. Noting the relevant resources that CABI has, the Permanent Secretary committed to working in partnership with CABI.
In the afternoon, Dr Elger visited Chongwe, where he met with a youth group which had been trained in agribusiness under CABI’s ACIAR project. The youth shared their experiences and expressed gratitude for the training given by CABI that empowered them to launch agribusiness ventures in their communities.
The visit concluded at CABI’s field site in Silverest, where Dr Elger observed field trials and sustainable farming practices, including biocontrol trials. These initiatives are key to promoting environmentally friendly agricultural solutions in Zambia.
New avenues for partnerships in research and youth empowerment
Dr Mwila said, “The centre has grown so much due to the hard work of the team, as well as the impact of the innovations promoted by CABI. To add to that impact, we are working to open new avenues for partnerships, particularly in research and youth empowerment, ensuring CABI’s ongoing contribution to sustainable agriculture in Southern Africa.”
Dr Elger reinforced CABI’s commitment to supporting agricultural development in Southern Africa and aligning its efforts with national and regional priorities, especially those of its Member Countries.
“Zambia was a founding member of CABI, and we appreciate the long and successful partnership we have had with the country and its institutions. I am pleased to have visited Zambia as we seek to deepen existing partnerships and explore additional opportunities for collaboration, especially in addressing pressing agricultural challenges such as pest management and food security, he said.”
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