WASHINGTON, June 19, 2018 – The World Bank approved today financing of $14.6 million under the Climate Investment Funds to help create a private sector approach for smallholder famers affected by climate change in Zambia.
Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience (PPCR Phase II) will help integrate financial and technical services such as savings, microcredit and index insurance into the existing approaches on climate resilience, conservation agriculture and renewable natural resource management. It will increase the number of beneficiaries from 130,000 to 167,000 in Kazungula (Southern Province), and in the Zambezi flood plain of Western Province. This is additional financing to the already existing Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience project under implementation since in September 2013.
“The additional financing will further strengthen the capacity of Zambia’s public sector to effectively manage climate change implications,” said Ina Ruthenberg, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia. “Communities’ capacity to cope with climate change will also be built.”
The funds support the Zambian government to integrate smallholder farmers into the value chain by establishing the much-needed linkages to the market.
“At the national level, the project seeks to increase the dissemination and accessibility of information on weather, markets, commodity prices, climate-smart practices, outbreaks of diseases/pests, and other important information to help producers across Zambia in making critical management decisions about their livelihoods and enterprises,” said Iretomiwa Olatunji, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project.
