Project News

Training and Demonstration on Rice Line Planting in Maheba, Kalumbila District in North Western Province. Picture by Paul Mwansa.

Market-oriented Rice Development Project, or MOReDeP, in collaboration with the Caritas and UNHCR, supported rice farmers in Meheba, Karumbila district, Northwestern province. JICA received an article written by Ms. Alice Nyirenda, NAIS- Kalumbila District.

Japan International Development Agency (JICA) has empowered Meheba farmers of Kalumbila District with 750 kg of SUPA MG Paddy rice seed.

This is in a bid to help farmers improve rice production in the district.

In this respect the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) working under the Market-Oriented Rice Development Project (MOReDeP) has started training farmers in improved farming techniques in Rice production.

A total of 150 farmers have been selected to benefit from the Project that is being done in Meheba Refugee Camps Kalumbila in North Western Province. The benefiting farmers are farmers who are already Rice producers and have a basic knowledge in Rice production while having been practicing traditionally in lowland referred to as Dambos.

The selected farmers are members of the refugee community coming from Meheba H, Meheba D, Meheba G mostly from Burundi, Rwanda and DRC. Also as part of the beneficiaries are Locally Integrated Zambians in Meheba Resettlement Scheme.

The 150 farmers were given a hands on training for a period of 5 days which ran from 19th to 23rd October, 2020.

The training which started with sensitization was held with limiting numbers to 30 participants a day in order to adhere to the health guidelines given by the Ministry of Health pertaining to COVID 19 Pandemic.

As part of the improved practices to be followed during rice production, farmers were taught on how to practice line planting as opposed to broadcasting which has been a trend all along in the lowlands (Dambos).

And an initial 149 out of the 150 participants, are direct beneficiaries of the project and have since done the nursery with the view to transplant in the main fields.

Master Trainer Simbarashe Mubambwe urged the farmers to be proactive and ensure that they follow what had been taught for them to see the benefit of adopting change and the beauty of producing SUPA MG Rice while strictly following the recommended Agro-nomical practices as per the training.

He said officers from the Ministry of Agriculture especially the field officers who are involved in the project will be on guard to monitoring works, to ensure the points given during the training are followed and put to good use.

Practical-Farmers preparing a paddy field

Practical-Seed preparation demonstration

Practical-Nursery preparation

Practical-transplanting seedlings

Seed Distribution in Meheba