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development, but the delay has delivered a hugebonus – a range of magnificent wild animals, suchas 'development' has killed off in every other continent. This treasure, together with superb,unspoilt wild scenery, will, if properly preserved,be worth more than any quantity of finite mineralresources. However, tourism itself needs to beKing Copper has lost his crown! So we must look diversified, as is suggested in another article.elsewhere. 'Diversify the economy!' is the cry, andthere are no dissenting voices. The only question Next, the processing of crops and animalis 'How?' This issue of the Journal sets out to products. At present this is pretty well limited to theanswer it.production of flour, stock feeds and edible oils.Read 'The Sylva Story' to learn how a modestThe list is headed by 'A' for agriculture. Zambia sized food processing enterprise has diversifiedhas more land per head of population than any into new products and achieved success at homeother African country south of the Sahara, bar the and abroad.Gabon. And most of it is fertile and well-watered.Yet we use less than 10% for growing crops and Hitherto Zambia, through mining, has put itsrearing livestock. Moreover, most of that use is economic faith in natural resources. Our futuretotally unprofessional. The article on focus must be on human resources, with anConservation Farming explains how to emphasis on technical education. Diversificationrevolutionize small scale agriculture. With less requires skills and professionalism in new areas.money, less labour, good timing and proper The article 'From 14 to 954' shows what greatattention to detail, Zambia could easily raise itself needs and opportunities still exist in vocationalfrom poverty and become the bread basket of training.central Africa.But how to achieve success in new and as yetNumber two must be Tourism with a big 'T'. Africa unfamiliar fields of business? This is where themay have suffered from a late start in economic availability at minimal cost of business expertsZIPPA Board
:
Muyunda Mwanalushi (Chair.), Jonathan Chileshe (V/Chair.), Murray Sanderson (Exec. Sec.), Wilphred Katoto(HonTreas.),Ernest Beele, Mary Kakumbi, Charles Lungu, Sara Ngulube, Chika Phiri.
THEMEFeaturesFREEWAYGo for it, Zambia !
Go for it, Zambia !Quotations
1
12335577991010 April - June 2009
-Economic Diversification
Small scale farming can paySouth Pole or unknown Zambia?The Sylva storyFrom 14 to 954Consultants without fees!New Zealand aims for competitive advantageChartersHuman RightsEconomics without tears.Budget Submission
 
from abroad provides a wonderful opportunity. even nothing at all. The same may be said for all'Consultants without fees' describes a scheme rain-fed crops, yields are generally less than half which enables our local enterprises to receive of what they could be and should be.visits and obtain hands-on, practical advice frominternational business experts, virtually for free.Productivity is dwindling, poverty is spreading,land degradation and deforestation areaccelerating, and millions of farmers are busyCome on, Zambians, let's diversify! depleting the soil upon which they and futuregenerations depend. The production of sufficientfood from the land, the most fundamental of allhuman enterprises, is in deep trouble.What are the negative agricultural practiceswhich are destroying our land and underminingIn recent years Zambia has gained a reputation our future? Most significant are the existingas a leader in the promotion of Conservation methods of land preparation known asFarming, or CF as it is known for short. 'conventional tillage'. These start with the currentConservation Farming offers an extraordinary practice of burning crop residues from theopportunity to increase the productivity of previous season, instead of leaving them toZambian farmers. When correctly applied the protect the soil. After this comes ploughing or, intechnology increases the yields of a wide range of eastern Zambia, ridging with hoes. By causingannual rain-fed crops. It also reduces the amount overall soil disturbance these practices exposeof labour required and makes better use of the soil to erosion, compaction and oxidation.increasingly expensive farm inputs, thus reducing This explains why thousands of hectares of production costs. formerly productive farmland have beendegraded and abandoned.For the most part, nature has endowed Zambiawith good soils, reliable rainfall and abundant The resulting low maize yields oblige farmers toland, and we have been spared the problems of plant excessive areas of this crop to achieve foodexcessive population pressure and political security. In consequence they fail to apply cropinstability suffered by some of our neighbours. rotation, which would benefit their soils, reduceDespite these advantages, we are seldom self-the risk of total crop failure and improvesufficient in maize, our primary staple crop.household nutrition.Evidence shows that of the total 4,410,000 No less serious is late planting, a universalhectares of maize planted by smallholders over menace in Zambia. Farmers who lack their ownthe past 6 years, 1,440,000 hectares or 33% was animals often have to wait to hire oxen fromabandoned. Even in 2005/6, one of the best rainy neighbours. This can delay planting for weeks. Toseasons on record, farmers abandoned 155,800 give an example, a delay of 4 weeks from the firsthectares or over 20% of the maize they planted. opportunity to plant maize reduces the yield by70% of smallholders sell no maize at all. Yet we 40%. Every year tens of thousands of farmershave all the resources at hand to become a major plant late. This causes many to abandon their exporter – indeed to take over Zimbabwe's former crops altogether, especially if the rains ceaserole of being the 'breadbasket' of the region.early or the farmers have planted larger areasthan they can weed.The 2008/9 season looks as if it may be one of thebest for decades, and average smallholder yields In contrast to these destructive methods CFmay exceed 1.5 tons/ha. It appears that Zambia is practices are easy to follow, and they produceset for a 'bumper harvest', yet what kind of dramatic benefits. Farmers who adopt CF reducebumper is this? American farmers relying on their costs, raise their yields, increase their profitsrainfall alone produce about 270 million tons of and, in time, improve the fertility of their land.maize a year and average over 8 tons per hectare. Across east, central and southern Africa Delivering the training and knowledge to enablemillions of smallholders get about 1 ton, just thousands of small-scale farmers to convert to CFenough to feed one family for a year, and even in and to change ingrained habits is a big challenge.seasons of reasonable rainfall many get less, or 
2Small scale farming can pay
by Peter Aagaard
 
However, steady progress is being made and it is covered land without roads or vegetation, but withnow estimated that over 150,000 smallholders seals, whales, penguins and other birds, thehave adopted CF methods on portions of their Antarctic has become a major tourist attraction.land. The current CF campaign, organized by theConservation Farming Unit (CFU) of the Zambia Doesn't that tell us something? Surely it is time weNational Farmers Union and sponsored by the started to market the attractions of remoteness,Norwegian government, is a continuation of wildness and lack of infrastructure! We haveefforts that started in 1996. Through an extension many such areas in Zambia, often combined withsystem involving 5,000 lead farmers the CFU great natural beauty and remarkable flora andgives quarterly training to 140,000 small scale fauna. We also have David Livingstone's death-farmers. It also holds 900 end of season field days place. Why not invite intrepid tourists to follow theattended by over 80,000 farmers.Livingstone trail? Surely there's an opportunityhere to diversify our tourism industry. Across the world today 100,000,000 hectares of crops are planted following CF systems, yet only
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·If you have yet to experience the0.5% of this area is in Africa. breathtaking beauty of wild, almost inaccessible,parts of Zambia, make a wonderful journey byThe technologies were developed in the visiting www.spirit-of-the-land.comaftermath of the dust bowl in the US mid west inthe 1930's when a combination of ploughing and
Author: Murray Sanderson, Executive
droughts destroyed over 40 million hectares of 
Secretary, ZIPPA
farmland and caused extreme hardship for over half a million families.The basic principles of CF in Zambia are asfollows:
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Maximize soil cover to the extent possible byretaining previous crop residues.From a one-room establishment in 1987 the
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Minimize soil disturbance to the extent possible entrepreneurial gene of Sylvia Banda hasby adopting minimum or zero tillage.spawned and expanded the family business, so
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Complete land preparation in the dry season.that today Sylva Catering Services Limited
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Target the placement of seed, fertilizers and occupies what for Zambia is a new and importantlime accurately.business niche.
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Plant as soon as soil moisture is adequate for the crop to emerge.The method behind Sylva Catering's expansion
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Adopt optimum crop rotation with legumes.has been to identify a strong market niche, todiversify within it, and to target local and exportConservation Farming can enable Zambia to markets. The key to the success of the enterprisebecome a major exporter of agricultural has been a deep-seated dedication to trainingcommodities. It also offers tens of thousands of suppliers and employees to meet exactingrural families the opportunity to improve their standards. Also important has been thelivelihoods, while also addressing the challenges multiplicity of experience, knowledge and skillsof climate change and environmental contributed by the wife and husband team of degradation. P.J. Aagaard, CFU Sylvia and Hector. The synergy thus generated isthe pulse of their life's work.Sylva Catering's core business is the promotionof indigenous Zambian foods. The organisationaddresses food preservation, preparation andconsumption. Its mission is “
To promote healthy eating habits in Zambia, encourage the
These days western tourists are heading in large
consumption of nutritious foods, and offer the
numbers for the South Pole. Why? Because it's
highest quality training in the hospitality industry,
different! Sea and icebergs, icy winds, snow
and thereby ensure the best individual, corporate
3South Pole or unknown Zambia?
By Murray Sanderson
The Sylva story
By Hector Banda
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