World Bank loans $50m for Zambia’s livestock
The World Bank has loaned Zambia $50 million to improve the country’s livestock sector. The loan, whose repayment period is 40 years with at least 10 years grace period, will go towards financing the Livestock Development and Animal Health Project which will be the first standalone livestock project in the country in over two decades.
Speaking at the signing ceremony yesterday, World Bank country representative for Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, Kundhavi Kadiresan said the livestock development and animal health project comes at a time when Zambia was seeking to diversify its economy to agriculture.
“This project supports the government's aspiration to diversify both the economy and agriculture from focus on maize alone by improving the productivity of key livestock production systems for small-holder producers in Eastern, Southern and Western province,” she said. Ms Kadiresan said the project, which would target 390,000 female and male small-holder producers, would also cover disease-free zones in selected areas in the country.
“If successfully implemented, the project will reduce the prevalence rate in the project area of Newcastle Disease in chickens, Contagious Bovine Plural Pneumonia (CBPP) and Foot and Mouth disease in cattle,” she said. “The project's overall goal is to help improve the productivity of Zambia's livestock industry and make it competitive in the region. Compared with South Africa, the largest regional market, the price of dressed beef in Zambia is 20% higher and the price of raw milk 50% higher. This also leads to low per capita consumption of these products in Zambia currently estimated at 6kg of beef and 7.4 litres of milk, compared to 18.48kg and 54.1 litres of beef and milk respectively in South Africa.”
Agriculture minister Emmanuel Chenda said significant investment was needed to boost animal husbandry and vigorous disease control. Chenda attributed the low productivity levels in the livestock sector to underinvestment. “Our overall plan and ambition is to provide dip tanks in all villages in the areas with concentrations of cattle,” he said. “"The assistance from the World Bank is a laudable and very welcome initiative.”
