Climate change and ........

I am in Durban attending 'COP17'  and I can't help but notice that there is no aspect of human living that has not been linked to climate change during this 17th  Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Among the notable issues or aspects linked to climate change as depicted by the various exhibitions around the ICC in Durban where the conference is taking place include environment, agriculture,health, food and nutrition, literature, religion, technology, economics......

This is quite impressive. However, it is also a signal that perhaps we maybe diluting the problem by linking it to so many aspects that we are in danger of not realising how this phenomenon will have profound effects on the way that we live on this planet. We may also be in danger of not realising the significance that climate change is having by threatening the lives of millions of people that live on Small Island nations including Bangladesh where rising sea levels are a real menace to continuity.  Africa is also extremely vulnerable particularly in regions that are susceptible to rising temperatures that have significantly changed lifestyles particularly for farming and pastoralist communities.

It is therefore important that while it is good that climate change and its anticipated effects have resulted in very good technological innovations (electric cars, solar electricity, recycled products e.t.c) world leaders and all well meaning world citizens do not lose the focus on what kinds of actions are needed to save our planet. It is a fact that climate change has the potential to increased business opportunities and economic growth particularly to those nations that have invested in clean energy. However, it is fundamentally important for us to also take a critical look at the way that we are affecting very vulnerable countries that are unable to invest in clean technologies and whose peoples are at the risk of suffering the worst consequences of unpredictable weather as a result of increased green house gases in the atmosphere.

COP 17 presents a chance for many great nations to show leadership by saving the Kyoto Protocol and committing to a new commitment period. It is also important that some of the historically polluting nations also provide resources for adaptation particularly for Africa and other vulnerable regions in addition to development aid. Bishop Desmond Tutu, urged world leaders to take action now because earth is the only home we have during an inter-faith rally held at Kings Park Stadium on Satrurday, 26th November, 2011 in Durban, South Africa. The rally was part of a serious of events in the 'We have Faith-Act Now for Climate Justice' campaign. The campaign has been mobilising youths and faith leaders to play an active role in putting pressure 

Youths present signed petitions in 'ark' to Bishop Tutu at the King Park stadium during interfaith rally

on world government to ensure that COP 17 results in a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol.  He said that if we destroy this home by continuing to act the same way we have done in the past we will all suffer the consequences of our actions whether rich or poor.









Cleric urges PF administration to allocate 10% of national budget to Churches

A cleric in Zambia has called on the new Patriot Front (PF) government to consider giving 10 per cent of the national budget to the church in Zambia. Father Laston Lupupa SJ, Parish Priest at Our Heavenly Father Catholic Church in Chelston, Lusaka made the call during his homily on Sunday this week. The homily focused on a reading from the gospel of Matthew in which Jesus told the Pharisees and the Herodians to give to "Caeser what belonged to Ceaser and to God what belonged to God'' when they confronted him on the question of paying taxes.

Fr. Lupupa said that it was an obligation for citizens to pay taxes to the government and the responsibility of the government to ensure that the funds that were collected in taxes were used for the welfare of all citizens. He urged the new PF government to ensure that monetary resources collected in form of taxes are used prudently and ploughed back into projects that would benefit all Zambians.

He observed that that the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation by the Second Republican President Fredrick. T. J. Chiluba has not been accompanied by allocation of monetary resources in the national budget to the Churches. Most Churches depend on donations from well wishes to carry out capital projects such as building new church structures, hospitals and schools. He further pointed out that despite providing health and education services especially in rural areas, most church missions received very little financial support from the government.  He therefore implored the new administration to consider allocating about 10 per cent of the national budget to Churches. 

Rain, wind and cold air in October?

Photo Courtesy of Mwaka Kayula

This year's October weather has really been very unpredictable. When one wakes up in the morning they are not sure what clothes to wear. Most debate on whether to put on heavy or light clothes. In the recent past, October clothing was very predictable. Ladies would rush to the tailors and bouquent (including salaula) and get some light clothes in readiness for the anticipated hot weather. This October, however, we have been greeted by early rains. In some areas of Zambia the rains have been heavy. They have caused damage particularly to maize at the Food Reserve Agency's satellite depots dotted in most rural areas of Zambia. The photogragh on the left shows some maize that was soaked after a down pour at Batoka FRA depot in Southern Zambia.

Unpredictable weather patterns pose a serious challenge to long term planning particularly for weather dependent social and economic activities. Early rains in October have resulted in FRA making adjustments to their maize storage plans. In the past early rains were expected mainly in the last weeks of October or early November. Now that they have started in the first weeks of October farmers also have to adjust their land preparations and planting plans. Are these some of the challenges that we have to face as a result of climate change? If so, it is important that the country invests in better climate prediction facilities to assist the country to adjust to the changing climate. In addition, the international communities particularly developed nations that bear the responsibilities for the changing climate need to support least developed countries such as Zambia to adapt.

The cost of climate change adapation is enormous. In the case of Zambia thousands of metric tonnes of maize that were produced in last year's farming season risk being wasted if measures are not urgently taken to either move the stock to safe storage or cover exposed maize. Most of the maize was produced with subsized inputs and also bought from farmers at enormous cost to the government revenue. Therefore, if the stock is not secured millions of kwacha of tax payers' money will go to waste. This is unacceptable in a country where more that 60% of the population live on less than a dollar a day with some households only managing one meal a day during the lean seasons. FRA has responded quickly by providing satellite depots with taupaulins to cover the harvest in some cases and transport to move some maize to permananent storage sheds in other cases as reported in the Zambian media.

The cool and mild weather particularly in the evenings is very welcome by most. Apart from the comfort provided to many the weather also prevents high energy comsumption. This could be regarded as one of the postive aspect of climate change. In the past hot October evenings have resulted in high usage of electrical appliances such as fans and air conditioners increasing use of electric energy. The cool weather has also reduced on high numbers disease vectors such as mosquitos and flies which proliferate in times of hot weather.

Michael Chilufya Sata’s election as Zambia’s Republican President celebrated with euphoria

The day started with a very somber mood. Around lunch time most offices in Lusaka city had closed. All retail shops in the central business district, Kamwala second class trading area, sub-urban areas and local markets were also closed. Early in the day there were rumours of riots on the Copperbelt because of delayed announcement of the results of the Presidential elections that were held on 20^th September, 2010. Students at the University of Zambia gave an ultimatum to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to declare the results or else they were going to start rioting.

36 hours after the polls the mood in Lusaka, the centre of government was that of uncertainty and anxiety. Most residents stayed at home glued to television and radio waiting for more announcements of election results. Around 13:00 hrs Chairperson of the ECZ Justice Ireen Mambilima announced that Michael Chilufya Sata, opposition Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate was leading, followed by the incumbent President Rupiah Bwezani Banda according to results obtained from 116 out of 150 constituencies. She advised the members of the public to be patient and allow ECZ to do its work properly as all political parties had agreed that ECZ should complete publication of election results within 48 hours from the polling date.

In the evening most residents stayed in-door while they waited for further announcements. One could not help but remember the trends in the previous presidential elections results and thinking that history may repeat itself or a déjà vu would happen. Michael C Sata had been leading the incumbent Levy Patrick Mwanawasa in 2006 before being overtaken shortly before all results from constituencies were announced. In 2008, Rupiah B Banda had also come from behind to win the presidential poll. A lot of Zambians feared that the same would be the case this time around. Further results were scheduled to be announced at 22 hours on 23^rd September, 2011. However, after keeping vigil up to this time television stations announced that there was going to be a delay in the scheduled announcement.

Some minutes after mid-night Justice Mambilima accompanied by the Chief Justice Ernest L Sakala, the returning officer for presidential election results, addressed members of the press and political parties that were at the national elections totaling centre at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka. Justice Mambilima explained that election results from 143 constituencies had been verified by ECZ . She explained that the leading candidate was ahead by a large margin that would not be affected by results in the remaining 7 constituencies not yet been obtained. The Chief Justice thereafter declared Michael Chilufya Sata as Zambia fifth Republican President as provided for in the 2006 Electoral Act based on 95% of all election results for 2011 polls.

The announcement was immediately followed by spontaneous shouts of joy. In Chelston, residents trekked to the streets especially Palm drive where they sung PF songs. Drivers were honking and speeding down the street. The celebrations were punctuated by blowing of vuvuzelas and symbolic peddling. There was a spirit in the air that was reminiscent of emotions felt and expressed by Zambians when Frederick Chiluba won the first multi-party elections in 1991, beating the incumbent President Kenneth David Kaunda who ruled for 27 years. The celebrations expressed a sense of freedom and independence.  The celebrations have continued. The President elect will be sworn in today, 24^th September, 2011 taking over from the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government that have ruled for 20 years.

Another maize bumper harvest, what next?

Zambia has recorded yet another bumper maize harvest. Travelling around Zambian towns and villages one observes stacks and stacks of bags of maize grain. The main storage depots are over-flowing with the maize. Satellite depots situated in the villages are also filled up with maize. Farmers are very happy that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) is buying their produce and in many cases paying them on time.

This bumper harvest is however not in all areas of Zambia. Pockets of the country, for example, parts of Siavonga district did not record good maize harvests. Most of the rural households have already run out of food and are either purchasing maize or depending on relief. This is because parts of Siavonga district, if not all parts, experience the lowest amounts of rainfall in Zambia. Despite the fact that communities in these parts of Zambia should be growing cereals that do not require a large amount of water such as cassava, millet or sorghum the people in this area have a high preference for maize. Some early maturing maize varieties produce good yields but regardless of this most rural households are still growing late maturing local maize varieties putting their food security at risk.

This year and in the past few years the weather has been very favourable in most parts of Zambia resulting in very high maize production. This scenario can also be attributed to high numbers of farmers practicing conservation agriculture particularly in Chipata district. Most farmers are using conservation farming techniques that improve soil fertility. There was also distribution of large quantities of chemical fertilisers to farmers in 2010/11 farming season under the government run Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). These factors have now made Zambia a food surplus nation.

As already pointed out there are still pockets of very food insecure areas in the country particularly in the valley areas such as Siavonga where people had run out of maize stocks by as early as August this year. There is therefore need for the food distribution system to be improved in the country to ensure that food surplus areas help to feed food deficient areas. For this to happen there is need to put in place better food distribution policies. Currently, FRA is a major player in maize marketing and in storing food in the national reserves. The private sector also plays a critical role in purchasing maize from farmers. However, there are also high levels of exploitation of farmers by some private buyers who sometimes offer very uneconomical prices to farmers for their maize.

Given the fact that the climate has now become very unpredictable it is important that this bumper harvest is stored appropriately. Last year a lot of maize went to waste because of poor storage or late movement of maize from satellite depots to the main depots. This resulted in damage to most of the maize that was bought by FRA because of getting soaked from the rain. This year FRA should therefore make adequate preparation to avoid similar losses. It is not certain that there will be other bumper harvests in the future given the constant changes in climate and other maize production factors. East Africa has been adversely affected by drought in recent years and therefore we can not take the favourable weather that we have experienced in the past few years for granted. We need to become better at post-harvest handling of our bumper harvests. We also need to be better because government has spent billions of kwacha to buy this maize from farmers and therefore these financial resources will be wasted if we neglect to handle the maize appropriately. We also need to be better at putting in place distribution mechanisms that ensure that people living in maize deficient areas are given the ability to grow alternative crops and have enough purchasing power to be able to buy maize from surplus areas.  

How well do you know your neighbour?

Three months ago I made a decision to start rearing 'village' chickens at my home. This decision was compelled by the fact that even though I had no chickens of my own, chickens in my neighbourhood were always spending most of their day in my yard. These chickens would feed on my vegetables making it impossible for me to grow certain types of vegetables in my garden. I therefore bought two hens during one of my frequent visits to rural Zambia. I brought the hens home. As anyone who has ever reared chickens on free range will know it is not easy for 'village'chickens to be accustomed to a new environment. You have to give chase several times to make them adapt to their new home. Once they have adapted they will always come back home regardless of the endless movements to several places in the neighbourhood.

It was therefore surprising that the hens one day did not return home in the evening. One hen was nursing 5 three day old chicks. She disappeared with 3 chicks. 2 chicks were found in our garden anxiously looking for their mother. When asked one of the neighbours living next to my house said she had found a hen with chicks on her yard. She had asked another neighbour if she knew who the owner could be. Thereafter the two neighbours decided that the hen could below to a woman in the neighbourhood living 6 houses away. One of them approached her. According to the woman who first found the hen and her chicks the woman living 6 houses away came and collected the chicken. She further said that she did not know that I was keeping chickens at my home that is why she had not bothered to find out if the hen belonged to me. I visited the women who was said to have collected the hen to inquire about my chickens. She denied taking the hen saying that she had left the hen in my neighbour's yard after realising that it did not belong to her. Up to now I can not find the nursing chicken. This development has really saddened me because I am now stuck with 2 week old chicks without a mother's care. My other hen is also missing up to now.

This has really made me reflect on how much I know about my neighbours. Knowing a little more about the people living around you is important and in some cases can even be necessary. You never know when knowing your neighbour could be a life saver or prevent unnecessary loss. If only my neighbour had taken a little interest in my hobbies and looked at what was happening in my yard she would have known that I reared chickens and she would not have gone round the neighbourhood looking for the owner for the hen she found in her yard. How well do you know your neighbour?

Convicted Murderer turns Evangelist: Trevor Mwape's Story

Introduction

It is not often that 'free' people think about life behind bars and when they do, what first comes to mind are the deplorable living conditions in Zambian prisons. However, one seldom thinks about the inmates and what sort of people they are, their fears, needs and triumphs. It is not a secret that life in Zambian prisons is very hard for the inmates. There have been several media reports of crowded cells,  shortage of bed spaces and inadequate food. These inadequacies have resulted into prisoners taking turns to go to bed in some prisons or even starvation in other prisons. In June, 2011, Trevor Mwape, a former prisoner, now turned evangelist, shared his life story at Chelston's "Our Heavenly Father' Catholic Church. 

Trevor Mwape

Trevor was born in 1972 in Zambia's Copperbelt  Province. He had 11 siblings. His family relocated to Northern Province in his early childhood where he completed his secondary education. His ambition was to join the Zambia Army. Meanwhile, his father preferred an engineering career for him. The different career preferences between father and son tore the two apart and eventually drove Trevor to run away from home. He went to live with his elder sister in Chingola on the Copperbelt.

Estrangement from family and becoming a paramilitary policeman

After secondary school Trevor attempted to join the Zambia Army. However, due to unforeseen circumstances he was not selected by the Army. Eventually, he joined the Zambia Police . His intention was to become an ordinary police officer. However, at the time the only available training in the service was paramilitary. He therefore enrolled for this training. After 2 years he graduated from the police academy at Lilayi in Lusaka and was employed as a paramilitary police officer by Zambia Police. His family, particularly his father, was not happy about Trevor's career and he didn't hide his disappointment after learning that his son was a policeman . Trevor therefore decided to cut ties with his father and mother.

Marriage

After serving as a policeman for sometime, Trevor took his leave. He planned to spend time with his elder sister in Chingola. He stopped over in Kitwe, on the way to Chingola, where he engaged in heavy drinking. During this time he became involved with a married woman whose legal husband was serving a jail sentence. After spending some days with this woman he continued his journey to Chingola promising to come back for her on his return trip. Trevor and this woman later travelled to Lusaka where they started living together as man and wife. Trevor had no clue that his wife was already married to a convicted criminal. He discovered this later from the woman's relatives. At this point it was too late for him to break off the relationship.

Drug Abuse and womanising

Trevor started abusing alcohol and marijuana while still at school. He used to drink and smoke heavily. This became worse after he got employed as a paramilitary officer. He also picked up prostitutes from night clubs. This behaviour continued even after his marriage. In order to support his drinking, smoking and illicit sex habits he often engaged in corrupt practices.

Career as Paramilitary Police Officer

Trevor was a very courageous police officer. Í had no fear...even guns did not scare me, ' he said as he shared his story at Chelston Parish. As a result of his courage he served in some of the specialised crime units within the police service and other government security wings. However, his corrupt tendencies continued and this resulted in his eventual demotion. He was reassigned to general police duties and later transferred to a rural posting.

Life at home

At home, life was extremely disorganised. Trevor and his wife had 1 child together, a boy. Trevor abused alcohol and often deserted his home sometimes for as long as two weeks. He used to spend  time away from home with his girl friends. After his demotion Trevor was transferred to Mumbwa, a rural town. In Mumbwa, his wife became a Christian. She started praying for him and inviting pastors to their home so that they could assist her husband to change. However, Trevor was not ready to reform and in fact his drinking became worse.

Murder

One fateful day, Trevor started a fight with his wife after returning home at 02:00 hrs in the morning following a heavy drinking spree at the local Police Club in Mumbwa. He beat his wife excessively until she died. After realising that he had killed her, he left the house with the intention of committing suicide at his work place.

Arrest, conviction and sentencing

Trevor was arrested at his work place by his fellow police officers after a failed attempt to commit suicide. He was charged with murder. His family was deeply disappointed when they heard about Trevor's fate. His father said úmukulu tapusa akebo abusa kabwe'. This famous Bemba proverb means án elderly person will not miss the mark with words of wisdom but may miss the mark when he aims a stone at it.' 

Trevor was remanded in custody at Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe during trial. He was tried in Kabwe Magistrate Court and Lusaka's Supreme Court. He initially denied the murder charge. After several court appearances, he was eventually charged with murder and given the mandatory sentence for murder-hanging until pronounced dead. A defence lawyer however pleaded with the judge to reduce the sentence given that the accused was drunk when he committed the crime. Following this plea the sentence was reduced to 20 years with hard labour. 

Life at Mukobeko Maximum Prison

After sentencing Trevor was imprisoned at Kabwe's Mukobeko Maximum Prison. According to Trevor life was very hard for him and other inmates. They often lacked adequate food and used to rely on help from well wishes especially a Catholic Jesuit Priest known as Fr. Ben Bowen. Fr. Bowen was a Prison Chaplain and he would often bring some 'good' food and medicines to the prison for inmates. According to Trevor food ( mainly nshima, beans and Kapenta) provided by the prison authorities was 'not well prepared'. He described his life in jail as 'hell' saying that 'some inmates died from various illnesses or starvation.' His family especially his parents visited him in prison. His father and mother both died while he was serving his sentence.

Becoming a Christian

During his early days in Prison, Trevor refused visits from Christians preferring to drink beer and smoke marijuana. However, during one encounter with a church elder who shared Is 1:13 with him he confessed his sins and surrendered his life to God. His faith in God helped in making life more bearable for him in prison. After becoming a Christian he confessed to killing his wife in court against the advice of his defence lawyer.  He also stopped drinking and smoking marijuana.

While in prison he was involved in a terrible road traffic accident. He was admitted at the University Teaching Hospital (U.T.H) where he stayed for 9 months because of his critical medical condition. He was paralysed and could not walk without help. As a convicted criminal he had very few visitors while in hospital and often starved because of lack of food. He relied on prayer for strength and well wishers for food. After several months his mother visited him at hospital.

Transfer to  Lusaka Central Prison (Chimbo-kaila)

Upon his discharge from U.T.H, Trevor was transferred from Mukobeko Prison to Chimbo-kaila in Lusaka. At Chimbo-kaila, he had to share a prison cell with more than 100 inmates. Again he relied on prayer for strength. While he was still in prison he learnt about the deaths of some of his brothers and sisters. Some of his siblings left behind children who were now destitute. Despite discouraging remarks from some fellow prisoners he did not give up his Christian beliefs. Instead grew stronger in faith and he helped to lead other inmates to Christ.

Parole and freedom

After Trevor had served his sentence for close to 10 years, President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa decided to use his presidential discretion to pardon some prisoners. Trevor did not think that he would be eligible for pardon. However, he prayed that he may be among the 824 prisoners that the Officer-in-Charge at Chimbo- kaila Prison said would  have their sentences commuted from life sentences or  receive absolute pardon.  Trevor was anxiously waiting to hear his name on the day prison authorities announced the names of the prisoners to be released . After a long wait his name was called out. He was very excited that God had answered his prayer to be released. However, after walking to freedom he found that there was no one to receive him.

His former mother-in-law in the company of other relatives to his murdered wife paid him a visit while he was behind bars. They told him that they had forgiven him for killing his wife. Trevor was grateful to them for forgiving him and thanked God. The family did not however bring Trevor's son along and they asked him to respect their decision to keep his son away from him.

Destitution

Life for Trevor after prison was not any easy. He was homeless. Initially he spent nights out in the cold at the Lusaka Inter-city Bus Terminal. Later, he was offered a job at a farm in Chisamba by a clergyman. He was responsible for herding cattle and working in a banana plantation. He was dismissed from this job a few months later and became homeless again. Eventually, he met a former convict, Kwacha Mvula, who provides assistance to former inmates. He stayed with him for a while and with his support Trevor secured accommodation in one of Lusaka's high density townships. He is staying with 5 dependents (his brothers and sisters). Together with other former inmates, he features on  radio programmes called 'Turning Point' and Ífya nchitila Lesa' on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) radio 2 and 1 respectively. He has also become a full-time evangelist.

Conclusion

Trevor laments that there is a lot of stigmatisation against former convicts. It is not very easy to be re-integrated into main stream society after serving a prison sentence. It is extremely difficult to earn a living because most employers will not give a job to a former convict. He however said that he is comforted by the scripture that says that 'there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' He urged Christians that attended the service where he shared his life story at Chelston Parish to 'put love first'. He also urged them  to learn from his mistakes and to avoid indulging in alcohol and drug abuse because they could have dire consequences on someone's life.  

 

Sexist Language against Women

Normally Sundays are quiet days in my neighbourhood. Most people relax at home or go to Church to worship their God. Like many people on Sunday my day starts by going to Church and ends with relaxation at home. Last Sunday, I however had an interesting day. After the Church Service  I lushed to a local butchery at the market. Surprisingly, there was a long queue of people at the butchery. I quietly joined the queue which extended outside the butchery's main entrance to the street.

Now a bit of background information is necessary here. Most people in my country are not very patient with queues. There is generally a tendence that if a person knows someone at the place where they have gone to seek something then they would not need to waste time in the queue but simply speak to the person they know and get served. So jumping the queue is commonly practiced. I have always wondered where this bad practice comes from in our culture. Being a frequent traveller abroad I have been exposed to other societies and cultures and seen how other people respect and appreciate queuing at shops and other places e.g. Airports, banks e.t.c..

Back to my Sunday butchery incident. Standing patiently in the queue I saw a number of people walk into the butchery and ignore the queue and go in front as though waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the queue. However, after realising that they had no chance of jumping the queue they would walk out of the butchery. As it was getting closer for me to get served, a young man of around 25 years old walked into the butchery. The butchery attendent was about to receive an order from a male customer that was immediately in front of me. However, the young man that had recently arrived in the butchery stepped forward and started giving his order. I quickly pointed out to the attendent that it was time for the person in front of me and not the new arrival to be served. Seeing that I had fouled his plan the new arrival insulted me using very abusive language. He wondered why a woman should accuse him of jumping the queue when there were men in the butchery.

I was really taken aback by this sexist language. Growing up as a girl and woman in Zambia, I have always been aware of gender imbalances in my society but never had anyone used such sexist language against me. It therefore hurt and shocked me that a male stranger should use abusive language towards me simply because of my sex. Strangely, none of the other women  present in the butchery dared to confront the man about his language againt me or women in general. The men in the butchery were also silent. I was however happy that after this incident the abusive man did not stay and get served. Instead he walked out of the butchery shouting unprintables about me.

Reflecting on this incident later I was saddened at how much women are still regarded as second class citizens in our society. Yes, there has been a lot of gender sensitisation and awareness raised among many people in formal and informal institutions about gender issues. But generally people's attitudes towards women are still very negative and abusive. Society has not really come to see as shameful sexist language as long as it is used against the female gender. As a result, most women still suffer abuse at home and in public. It is therefore important that more is done to educate boys and men that girls and women should be respected and seen as equal partners rather than second class human beings. I am also urging women and girls not to be intimidated to keep quiet when they see something wrong because of fear of verabl abuse from the 'stronger sex'.

Chicken rearing is a viable income generation activity

Introduction
Many people living on the margins struggle to find an income generating activity that could assist them in providing for themselves and their dependants especially in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Life is extremely hard especially when you have to depend on your self to produce enough food for your family and at the same time engage in some economic activities that will provide some cash that can be used to pay for education and health care. Recently, I met a self-trained, charismatic chicken farmer who believes that chicken rearing is a profitable income generating activity that can assist in improving the living standards in his family.

Some of Mr. Hampuwo's chickens

Feeding, disease and pest control
Timothy Hampuwo, a senior Zambian citizen living in Mulongo Village, Chief Hamaundu's area in Pemba, Southern Province, started rearing chickens in March 2009. Before leading life as an ordinary villager Mr Hampuwo was employed as a government teacher. His stock of birds is made up of indigenous breeds that are managed under a semi-controlled system. The chickens feed free range but in order to ensure that they have adequate nutrients their feed is supplemented their with organic food e.g. maize bran (which is sometimes mixed with sunflower cake or soya beans). In order to ensure that laying birds, which are housed in laying compartments on a raised grass and poles structure, have access to live ants (which are a major source of protein in the free range management system) Mr. Hampuwo has developed a very clever way of attracting the ants to the bird's cages. He puts dry or wet grass sprinkled with water in each laying compartment and this attracts the ants making them climb into the compartment to feed on the grass. In this way the laying birds have easier and adequate supply of ants. When it comes to avian disease and pest control, Mr Hampuwo relies on herbal drugs e.g. day old chicks are given a herbal mixture as vaccination against diseases.

Labour and capital requirements
Before seriously engaging in chicken rearing, Mr Hampuwo carried out an assessment to find out the advantages of chicken rearing as well as the requirements for a successful business. In his assessment he found out that chicken rearing does not require a lot of labour. The main tasks are feeding and giving water to the birds. The minimal labour requirements reduce the cost of production thus contributing to maximum returns on very little production inputs. According to Mr. Hampuwo it is possible even for those that do not have financial capital to start a chicken rearing business in the context of rural Zambia. This is because in the Zambian culture it is common for an individual to be given a chicken free of charge by a well wisher and this gift can be used to start a business. Another way is through borrowing a laying bird on condition that you repay by giving the lender an agreed number of chickens after a given period.

Brooding hens at Mr. Hampuwo's village

Egg/chick production
Mr. Hampuwo has observed that his laying chickens lay eggs 4 times in a year and therefore produce chicks every 3 months. Each bird lays 15 eggs. After the eggs hatch he puts 10 chicks on his income generating business while 5 chicks are reserved for home consumption. His stock includes 25 laying birds, 2 cockrels that service the laying birds and 23 male birds. He plans to increase the number of his laying birds to 50 by March, 2011.

Marketing
Birds are sold at 8 or 10 months. Initially, Mr Hampuwo was selling his birds in his village and surrounding communities at the cost of K25,000 (approximately USD 2) each. Realising that this price was low he decided to do a market research so that he could get a higher price for his birds. He now sells his chickens in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city which is located hundreds of kilometers from his village. Twice a year he travels to Lusaka's Chilenje Market to sell his chickens where female birds are sold at K45,000 (approximately USD 9) and cockrels at K50,000 (approximately USD 10).

Conclusion
Chicken rearing is a very good income generating actitivity for resouce challenged areas such as rural areas. It is not very costly to start especially where the stock is made up of local indigenous chickens commonly referred to as 'village or free range chickens' in Zambia. The minimal labour requirements make chicken rearing an appropriate income generating activity even for labour constrained individuals such as the elderly or People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Mr Hampuwo's experience with this income generating activity has been very positive and other farmers can learn from this especially in terms of management and marketing.