News from MS Zambia PAB

MS Zambia AM 2006

As most of you are aware the theme for MS Zambia Annual Meeting 2006 will be Lobby and Advocacy. PAB discussed how the Lobby and Advocacy theme should be presented and incorporated in the Annual Meeting.

The theme has already been presented for MS Zambia partners and will be discussed again at the component meetings in November and meetings prior to the Annual Meeting. There was therefore a clear agreement in PAB that the Annual Meetings should not be another workshop but provide valuable inputs from outside on how Lobby and Advocacy can successfully be implemented in the daily work of MS Zambia Partners.

South South Development Workers

Country Director, Mr. Kanene informed PAB, that MS Zambia will by next year have its first South South Development Workers. The positions will be advertised as soon as possible.

Agricultural Management at Community Level

Programme Officer, Caroline Mukosa presented a report on the problems and challenges faced by MS Zambia partners working within agriculture. In relation to the National Agricultural Policy the report highlighted the experiences of the small scale farmers. Some of the major challenges that they are facing are:

Ineffective and inefficient input supply and investment systems

Poor extension service delivery for small scale farmers to tap on new knowledge and latest technologies/practices in farming.

Lack of well organised marketing systems for effective and timely marketing of produce such as updated information on the price of produce in urban areas, limited capacity to influence and determine better prices for produce and poor infrastructure notably feeder roads especially in rural areas.

PAB agreed that the report was a useful tool in addressing the problems and challenges faced by the small scale farmers.

Feedback from Denmark

MS Zambia Country Director, Mr. Kanene, reported on the Programme Development Meeting which took place in Denmark in September. MS is at the moment looking at focusing its work and policies in the various countries were MS is operating. Each country programme, like Zambia, operates within different sectors and currently 27 sectors are represented in MS in the South Programme. By November MS will present a strategy paper addressing the need to focusing the MS in the South Programme.

One Policy Paper-several strategies

In line with the need to focus its work, MS will in the future develop one Policy Paper for all the MS in the South Programmes. Instead of having a specific Country Programme Policy Paper the programmes will develop different strategies to implement the Policy Paper.