Caritas Monze launches Food Security Strategy in Ceeba Village

District Commissioner (DC) for the newly created Chikankanta district in Southern Province, Sylvester Simayaba, has commended Caritas Monze for promoting food security in rural areas through provision of knowledge and inputs for sustainable agriculture. Speaking at the launch of Caritas Monze’s food security strategy in Ceeba Village situated in the Kafue Gorge area on 29^th May, 2012, he pledged government support for conservation agriculture and thanked Caritas Monze for targeting districts in the Zambezi valley that are affected by high levels of food insecurity despite having access to fresh water from the Zambezi and Kafue Rivers. He urged the beneficiaries to drive their own development and put to good use the support they are given and hailed the intervention as a good community based adaption to climate change.

Speaking at the same function guest of honour, Father Waclaw Stencil, Parish Priest for Namalundu Parish, said the food security strategy focuses on supporting rural farmers with irrigation equipment consisting of a 1000 litres water tank, treadle pump and pipes as well as open pollinated seed varieties of maize, beans and okra.

Above: Irrigation kit consisting of treadle pump (left), pipes

middle and 1000 litres water tank (right). Picture courtesy of

Valerie Chanda Chibuye.

The strategy also promotes construction of food and seed grain banks at community level. The launch of the food security strategy is part of the activities implemented by Caritas Monze in the Sustainable Social and Economic Empowerment (SESE) of vulnerable and marginalised rural communities of Southern province in 6 districts with support from DanChurchAid (DCA) and the European Union (EU) since 2010.  Father Stencil thanked DanChurchAid, represented in Zambia through the Norwegian Church Aid/DanChurchAid/ChristianAid (NCA/DCA/CA) Joint Country Programme and EU for their support to SESE which ends in December this year. 1500 rural families in Chikankanta, Mazabuka, Gweembe, Siavonga, Sinanzongwe and Chirundu have been supported with irrigation sets and seeds.   



Above: Fr. Stencil (middle) hands over irrigation kits and seed

packs to headman for Ceeba Village (far right) while DCs for

Siavonga (far left) and Chikankanta (left) look on. 



The launch was also attended by the DC for Siavonga Brave Mweetwa, government officials, Headman for Ceeba Village, representatives from NCA/DCA/CA, Caritas Monze, Maamba, Fumbo and Chirundu Parishes, over 70 villagers of Ceeba Village and the media. The event was characterised by song and dance, a ground breaking ceremony for a 6x3.5 meters food/seed store room and office, handover of seeds and irrigation kits to Headman for Ceeba Village by the guest of honour and the DCs, distribution of t-shirts branded with the treadle pump and main theme of the launch ‘Covwa ube aacalulya mwaka oonse’ which means ‘ride so that you can have food throughout the year’ translated from Tonga and visits to beneficiary gardens.