Changing lives in Zambia
Scottish Minister ends visit to Malawi and Zambia by visiting Scottish aid project
Scottish Minister arrives in Zambia and shows off Queen's Baton
Scottish Government External Affairs and International Development Minister Humza Yousaf on 28 January ended his trip to Malawi and Zambia by visiting a Scottish Government funded aid project which is helping Zambian farmers to improve food security and household incomes.
Mr Yousaf visited SCIAF’s Kulima Programme in Lusaka, Zambia, which is working through the local Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC) to help 1,350 small-holder farmers improve food production, and the amount of food they produce for their family, by using organic methods.
He met farmers using the new methods on visits to their farms as well as the project managers. The visit comes at the end of a week-long visit to Malawi and Zambia, in which Mr Yousaf welcomed the arrival of the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton, Government Ministers and visited Scottish Government funded development projects in both countries.
British High Commissioner James Thornton said: “I am delighted that Mr Yousaf has had such a successful visit to Zambia. I am very pleased that the Scottish Government is supporting development here in Zambia, as a complement to the large programme run by the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).
“I was very pleased that Mr Yousaf was able to take part in the Baton Relay alongside the First President, Dr Kaunda and Vice-President Scott. All three were present both for the start of the relay through Lusaka on Monday morning and at a reception I held in the evening. The relay was a great curtain-raiser for the Games in Glasgow in July. These promise to be a great festival of youth and sport. I hope that Zambia will send a strong team which will win medals there.”
Mr Yousaf said:
“Visiting farms involved with the Kulima programme and talking to farmers made it clear what a different the programme is already making since we first partnered with SCIAF and KATC in 2008.“The project aims to increase yields so farmers have enough to feed themselves and their families, changing people’s lives for the better and helping people to help themselves.
“It’s a great example of the sort of project the Scottish Government is proud to support, and of the strong links which already exist between Scotland and Zambia.“This visit to Zambia and Malawi has cemented the strong and important relationship Scotland has with both countries.
“I’ve seen first-hand the life-changing results we are achieving through partnership working between Scotland and Malawi and Zambia – whether that’s in education, renewable energy, economic development or climate change.
“Our nations have much to learn from each other. This visit has made clear to me that not only do we have a shared past, we also have an important shared future.”
Further details
** SCIAF have been given a total of £2.7 million from the International Development Fund to deliver two projects in Zambia aimed at helping farmers increase food production between 2008 and 2015, the Promoting Rural Food Security Programme (2008-12) and the Kulima Programme (2012 – 2015.)
** The Scottish Government is a devolved administration within the United Kingdom.
** The UK government, through the Department for International Development (DFID) will spend about £70 million in Zambia in 2014.
For further information contact the Press and Public Affairs Section at the British High Commission on +260 211 423200