In order to reduce deforestation, Zambian farmers will receive training in "climate-smart agriculture" techniques. This is because the United Kingdom has donated £6 million ($7.7 million) to support regional and local projects.
The nation will use the money to support initiatives aimed at protecting the environment, moderate the pace at which agriculture is encroaching on forests and woods, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that arise from deforestation.
Farmers will receive training programs covering crop rotation, crop diversity, and improved irrigation practices. The ultimate goal is to decrease agricultural deforestation while simultaneously improving food security.
Through 200 new "farmer field schools," 100,000 smallholder farmers will receive training in climate-smart techniques, lowering poverty and improving people's ability to adapt to climate change.
Farmers will also be granted access to sophisticated digital technology, such as a novel application that offers climate updates and recommends the most opportune moments for cultivating or reaping crops, thus facilitating their adjustment to evolving meteorological trends.
The investment serves as a constituent of the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes, which is a worldwide endeavor aimed at providing assistance to programs that mitigate carbon emissions and encourage sustainable utilization of land and preservation of forests.
Officials stated that the funding was an additional sum, supplementing the pre-existing £115 million that the program had previously received from the fund since 2013.
The UK built on the promise made at Cop26 in Glasgow to stop and reverse the loss of forests by 2030 as part of its efforts to combat climate change and conserve and restore the natural environment.
In addition to underscoring the commitment to aiding nations such as Zambia, British Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho pointed out that protecting the environment is essential to combating climate change.
The speaker underlined the significance of protecting our environment for coming generations, pointing out that emissions from worldwide deforestation rates are around ten times greater than those of the United Kingdom.
Zambia's emissions could be cut by over three million metric tons thanks to the initiatives funded by the funding, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
It expands on the work that the African country has already finished as part of the initiative, which includes managing 190,000 hectares of land that are now using climate-smart agriculture, teaching 115,000 farmers, distributing five million agroforestry seeds, and constructing 478 new farmer field schools.
Chief Nyamphande of the Nyamphande Chiefdom in Eastern Zambia, a community that has benefited from the program, expressed that the program had assisted them in expanding into new farming ventures like beekeeping and fish farming. This diversification has reduced their reliance on seasonal crops vulnerable to droughts and other climate change impacts.
He also mentioned his satisfaction with the program receiving extra funding from the UK, emphasizing its importance in sustaining the advancements made in their province towards adopting smarter, climate-resilient agricultural methods.
