FAO.org

A new UN Joint Programme that aims to boost national food security in Zambia by encouraging young women and men to develop sustainable rural enterprises has received contributions of USD 7 million from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The initiative will also contribute to Zambia’s implementation of theComprehensive Accelerated Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) launched by the African Union, and linked to the Rural Futures Initiative championed by the AU-New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) planning agency.

While Zambia has made significant progress in recent years to develop its economy, rural poverty continues to affect young people, and overall registered unemployment runs at 28 percent for youth aged 20 to 24 years. The Joint Programme on Sustainable Livelihoods for Young People – which will center around the development of rural micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) – is meant to support the Government of Zambia in facing this challenge. The ultimate beneficiaries of the Joint Programme are potential and existing young entrepreneurs, especially out-of-school youth, who will be supported in the development of their enterprise ideas, while being aware of the environmental and social concerns that may hinder business sustainability.

The programme will have a people-centered approach geared towards the creation of decent jobs along the value chains for soy beans, a crop that has been classified by NEPAD as strategic for boosting national food security. Many rural households in Zambia already generate an income through the cultivation and processing of soy beans, and demand is currently growing fast at local, regional and global levels. The programme is expected to result in the creation of at least 2,000 new jobs and improve the quality of more than 5,000 jobs in rural MSMEs, including small scale farms operating along the soy beans value chain.

The UN partners involved in this initiative are ILO and FAO, which will implement the programme over a period of four years with institutional support from NEPAD. While ILO will take the role of lead agency, FAO will contribute its expertise in the promotion of on-farm employment by drawing on a wide range of approaches and tools targeting farmers and agribusiness workers in rural areas. To ensure the sustainability of results, the programme will place emphasis on enhancing national capacities by implementing its activities in close collaboration with existing government institutions, stakeholder organizations, as well as local business support service providers.