By Gargi Bagchi, Managing Editor, The African Gazette—Zambian rural cooperatives and smallholder farmers will be enjoying benefits through European Investment Bank’s EUR 30 million initiative, intended to boost agricultural investment.
The announcement for the initiative took place in Luxemburg and Lusaka on October 5, 2021, and it aims to enhance agricultural productivity, improve agricultural processing, promote job creation, and overall support the sector greatly affected by the pandemic, through best-practice training and assistance programs.
The agricultural labor force in Zambia comprising a large chunk of women face deep limitations towards access to funds. The program aims to upkeep sustainable and share inclusive business practices so that smallholders’ investments help in alleviating poverty, increase food security and overall contribute towards inclusive and more competitive agricultural value chains.
The European Investment Bank is directly owned by 27 European Union member states and is the largest international public bank in the world.
The EIB had offered its support for public and private investment in the past too since 1978 across Zambia. These include financial support for transport and energy as well as transformational water projects together with financing business development. In 2020, EIB had provided EUR 5 billion for both public and private investments throughout Africa.
Zanaco will be managing the current financing scheme, which is supported by European Union and European Investment Bank. This investment is a part of the bigger Team Europe backup for sustainable commercialization targeted towards smallholder farmers in Zambia.
In the words of Zanaco Chief Executive Officer, Mukwandi Chibesakunda – “Zanaco is committed to building on our track record of supporting agriculture across Zambia by improving access to finance, sharing best practice and innovation to unlock investment across the sector. Zanaco is pleased to join forces with the European Investment Bank to roll out Team Europe’s first dedicated support for agriculture in our country. This new partnership will unlock agricultural investment, create employment and unlock economic growth in Zambia in the years ahead.”
“Today we’re cementing the strong bond between the EU and Zambia. Team Europe, including the European Commission, has supported Zambia in its COVID-19 response with nearly EUR 58 million. And as we exit the pandemic, Team Europe is ready to further support the country on its journey to a green, sustainable and inclusive recovery. The EUR 15 million credit line signed today will allow smallholder farmers and agricultural businesses to adapt to climate change. It will create jobs, make farmers more resilient, and have an impact on thousands of lives,” said Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships.
“The European Union strongly supports Zambia’s green recovery, inclusive and sustainable growth agenda. The new “Agriculture Value Chain Facility” will help farmers to get long-term and affordable financing. This will make it easier for agribusinesses and smallholder farmers alike to access domestic and regional markets and to improve the livelihoods of people.” said H.E. Ambassador Jacek Jankovski, Head of the European Union Delegation to Zambia.
The Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is supporting Zanaco in further boosting their lending capabilities and ensuring women-led agricultural companies and female smallholders have better accessibility to the new financing.
The post Zanaco and Team Europe launch an agricultural initiative for Zambian Smallholders first appeared on The African Gazette.