WET FACE OF VICTORIA FALLS IS HERE AGAIN: Foreign media reported that the falls may dry up

COULD the Victoria Falls dry up? That was the question BBC’s Stephen Sackur and Sky News’ Alex Crawford posed last December in their documentaries about Zambia in which they claimed “the effects of severe drought and climate change are having an impact on one of the world’s great natural wonder, Victoria Falls.”

The shows, which were aired and carried by many other western media organisations who included the Telegraph, Reuters, Guardian and The Independent, had incensed local tour operators, saying it had caused “substantial damage to the local tourism industry”, prompting them to gather at the falls and take pictures to dispel the notion that Victoria Falls may be drying up.

In fact, soon after, a hashtag #VictoriaFallsIsNotDry was generated and made quite a number of rounds on social media.

Two months later, the Victoria Falls which many feared would soon dry up, has ‘awakened’ and is, again, gushing out abundant waters into the Zambezi River from its many tributaries. But even with all the stories that were said about the falls, it didn’t stop British author Val Morrison from visiting it, with her husband of 36 years, Keith.

She says she did not believe the stories she heard about the falls drying up. “I didn’t believe it even for a bit. The moment I read the stories, I said to myself, this is all but just fake news,” says Mrs Morrison.

The couple which has two children back home in England were in the country for the first time.

“This is our first time in Zambia and it is also the first time that we are seeing the Victoria Falls and I must say that I am really amazed by what I have seen here today. It is simply beautiful,” adds Mr Morrison.

The couple which was staying in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, said they enjoyed the view from the Zambian side because it was wetter and had a closer view than the Zimbabwean side. “We got wetter than we thought and we are glad to have viewed it from both sides. This view here is better because you get the noise more here than from the other side,” says Mr Morrison.

They were not the only ones at the falls. Australian Ben Lupu, a flight attendant at Virgin Airlines was equally thrilled to view the Victoria Falls. He too was seeing it for the first time. “It is very powerful, beautiful, and definitely not dry,” he says. “It is very wet and I would definitely encourage people to come and see it for themselves.”

Mr Lupu was also charmed by Zambia’s hospitality. “The people here are very friendly and happy people. They are always smiling,” he says. Zambia is the fifth Southern Africa country he has been to.

Make no mistake though, even local tourists have also been trooping to the Victoria Falls. One such tourist being Emmanuel Mukuka and his family from Lusaka.

Mr Mukuka having seen the falls countless times, it was his daughter Mary’s first time - and she was impressed. “This is amazing,” she says. Mr Mukuka said what prompted him to take his family there was the news that there was no water at the falls - albeit he wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

“We were not carried aback by the reports. In fact, it is the reports that somehow prompted me to undertake this trip,” says Mr Mukuka who was in the company of his wife and two daughters. I would like to do it again, because this is a memorable moment and experience for me,” says Mr Mukuka’s daughter Mary.

Susana Manas, 35, is a Portuguese biologist, who, like all the others, was at Victoria Falls to appreciate its beauty.  She was left amused and had lots of praises to describe it. “It’s beautiful, it’s huge, it’s magnificent,” she says. “When I was coming here, I wasn’t expecting to find this much water because of the stories I read online about it. I have viewed it from both sides and I am short of words to describe it, it’s simply beautiful,” she says.

Ms Manas says people should find time to visit the Victoria Falls and see for themselves as opposed to believing what they read. “As for me, I recommend it more to people,” she says.

Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko on her recent visit to the country visited the falls. She was also impressed. She said the world heritage site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world reflects rare natural beauty.

“It is no accident that UNESCO considers the Victoria Falls as a world heritage site. It is hard to describe what we feel when we see this miraculous site. And I am sure that following the visit of our delegation, more and more Russian tourists will also come to see this wonderful site,” she said in an interview.

She was visibly awed at the sight of the falling water and said the natural beauty of the falls is complemented by the “amazing” hospitality of Zambians. Mrs Matvienko who was partially wet from the water spray at the falls, later signed the visitors’ book at the Victoria Falls exit in Russian which interprets as follows: “It's a true wonder of the world. A great sight, a treasure of Zambia and the planet! I am glad to have the opportunity to see it.”

Around November and December, data from the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) showed water flow at its lowest since 1995, and well under the long-term average. President Edgar Lungu called it “a stark reminder of what climate change is doing to our environment”.

Scientists are cautious about categorically blaming climate change for the different facets of the falls. 

What is apparent is that there are always seasonal variations in water levels at the Victoria Falls.

Harald Kling, a hydrologist at engineering firm Poyry and a Zambezi River staffer says, “Sometimes it’s difficult to say this is because of climate change because droughts have always occurred”. “If they become more frequent, then you can start saying: OK, this may be climate change.”

He said early climate models had predicted more frequent dry years in the Zambezi basin, but that “what was surprising was that it [drought] has been so frequent” – the last drought was only three years ago. As the river got hotter, 437m cubic metres of water were evaporating every second.

Most tourists that visited the falls from October to January stared into a mostly dry chasm normally gushing with white water - a phenomenon that is not strange, according to Victoria Falls site manager, John Zulu.

He says Victoria is the only falls in the world with two faces. “This falls has two faces and we have packaged the activities as such, to cater for both faces.” He says it is during the dry season that geologists like to visit the falls to not only admire the rock formation, but also conduct geological studies.

“There is nothing wrong. What we should, however, do is to market these two faces because each face comes with its own activities,” he said in an interview recently.

The high water season runs from the second week of December to August, whereas the low water season at the falls is from September to December with the climax being April and May.

This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper.

ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market brings hope to farmers: small-scale farmers have no influence on market pricing systems

A VISIT to any of the sprawling informal fresh produce markets in Zambia reveals a harsh reality of the exploitation that small-scale farmers are subjected to.

This is chiefly attributable to marketing systems that do not give the farmer a say on the value of their products.

Here, Adrian Mweemba, 69, is a small scale farmer who grows vegetables in Livingstone’s Sinde village.

He too hasn’t had it easy.

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, he, in the company of his two helpers, brings his vegetables to Livingstone’s Libuyu and Dambwa Central Markets for sale.

Even if he does it, he says it doesn’t add up. He says exploitative intermediaries at various levels of marketing make it difficult for small-scale farmers such as himself to free themselves from the shackles of poverty.

“Firstly, I have to book a light truck to bring these vegetables [tomatoes, rape, egg plants, green beans, green maize and cabbage] here. That, on its own is an expensive venture. However, I do it because I get to sell in large quantities and I to some extent depend on the turnover,” he says.

He continues: “If I can complain about such things, take for instance a farmer that embarks on a trip from Kafue to take their produce to Soweto market in Lusaka, they deal with a lot of things. They have to pay toll fees at a toll plaza, after which the vehicle used for transportation will be charged upon arrival at the market. Additionally, the farmer will be required to pay highly variable, unregulated and unnegotiated fees after their produce is sold.”

He says the farmers also have no influence on the market pricing systems, with little to no transparency and zero fair-market real price discovery system.

“At the end of the day, the farmer is unable to recoup the expenses and charges incurred at various stages of marketing. These are some of the challenges we face,” says Mr Mweemba, a retired teacher.

With this gloomy picture, a Zambian conglomerate, the Savenda Group, has ventured into a project aimed at ensuring that farmers get the full value of their products.

“If you focus on the farmers, everybody wins. If you contrast that with the existing system in Zambia, it is currently ‘Farmers Last’. Farmers get scraps because of multiple layers of intermediaries and the lack of a formal market trading system offering transparency,” says Sean Moolenschot, the chief executive officer of Savenda Capital.

Mr Moolenschot says there are numerous obstacles that small-scale farmers face from the point of production, food safety, storage, and transport to market.

“The current system exploits the farmers. There is no traceability, food safety, or hygienic trading conditions. There’s also the issue of a system of unregulated agents and no price discovery. That is why small-scale farmers remain extremely poor,” he laments. “Women who sell in markets and on the streets are exposed to harsh weather conditions including extreme heat and rain as they sell their merchandise. So, we asked ourselves: How can we intervene in this system to make it better?”

Savenda Group has resolved to come up with the ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market, which is set to be Africa’s first commission-agent and formal fresh produce market outside of South Africa.

Occupying 11 hectares of land in the Lusaka South multi facility economic zone, the ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market will be part of a larger food hub concept, consisting of a fresh produce market and retail shopping area offering complimentary fresh, frozen and dried food products and services.

There will also be a state-of-the art aeroponics facility growing world-class quality salad ingredients, available for purchase in the market facility.

Trading under the mantra ‘Farmers First’, the market, which will be cashless, is to begin operations this year.

Mr Moolenschot says the project will provide a one-stop-shop experience in which all stakeholders stand to gain, with small-scale farmers finally being given the opportunity to reap the fruits of their labour.

The ZambiaFresh Market is a culmination of a study that the Savenda Group undertook to provide solutions to the challenges that small-scale farmers face.

It is also a response to a study that was commissioned in 2018 by Musika Development Initiative and Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI).

The feasibility study looked into the formal horticultural fresh fruits market, seeking the best way of transforming the informal horticultural market into a formal one.

The emphatic conclusion of the study was that the most appropriate formal market system for Zambia is the commission-agent system.

Mr Moolenschot says the system is uniquely African, having been developed out of the small-scale supplier base that existed in South Africa over 120 years ago. 

“It is this system that was instrumental in transforming fragmented small-scale growers into thriving commercial farmers and born out of an environment similar to Zambia. The reason why the South African system is successful is that it has transformed small-scale farmers into successful commercial businesses and we believe that this can also be achieved in Zambia,” he emphasises.

Sean Moolenschot

Transforming a fragmented and informal marketing system into a formal one has its own challenges.

These include ensuring acceptable standards, food safety and strict adherence to prescribed market trading rules.

To lead by example in the quality of horticultural crops to be supplied to the ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market, the Savenda Group has set up Palabana Farm.

The farm will also double as a training centre for small-scale farmers to acquaint them with the standards they will be required to meet in order for them to supply to the ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market.

“At Palabana Farm, we will be producing what people eat everyday like sweet potatoes and vegetables in a small-scale manner. We’ll be looking to encounter problems that farmers encounter every day. Then we can show them how to overcome if we do it ourselves,” he explains.

ZAMBIAFresh has also added poultry operations to Palabana Farm with the addition of two chicken houses accommodating 25,000 hens in lay, producing over 800 trays of eggs per day. Efforts are afoot to convert the farm-grown feed production to organic feed which will enable egg production to be accredited and certified organic.

The further benefit of this is that the chicken manure harvested daily will also be organic and used as natural organic fertilizer in the horticultural production. This means Palabana Farm will soon be producing organic fresh produce.

“We will be inviting farmers in big batches and train them on how to change farming methods so that they are accepted to sell in big shops. Only when they have been through this will they be allowed to sell at our market,” says Mr Moolenschot.

At the market, farmers will be represented by Savenda-approved agents who will need to have deep product knowledge and market conditions.

“The agent’s job will be to get the best price. The commission will be regulated; not an environment where agents exploit the farmers,” he reassures.

The manner in which the products are produced, stored, transported and how safe they are for human consumption will be critical, hence the need for a monitoring mechanism.

To ensure traceability, Savenda Group has engaged various strategic partners including RippleNami, a California-based company with the visualization platform that enables enterprises to visually see products from the time they leave the farm.

The ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market will also apply the HACCP concept, an internationally recognised system for reducing the risk of safety hazards in food.

A HACCP system requires that potential hazards are identified and controlled at specific points in the process.

Mr Moolenschot says quality will be the hallmark of the market which will aim at attracting buyers not only from within Zambia but also from the central and southern African regions with a combined population of about 200 million people.

He expresses regret that despite small-scale farmers, estimated to be around three million, doing their best to produce quality products, the benefits are negligible.

“Zambian farmers are great farmers. They produce fantastic quality product,” says Mr Moolenschot.

ZambiaFresh Lusaka Market sits on 11 hectares of land.

However, he adds that it is the informal marketing system that lets them down, and there is no financial reward system for producing comparatively higher quality.

“In terms of quality of production, we are, therefore, starting from a high base, and with ZAMBIAFresh Lusaka Market, we will take the fresh produce sector from good to great. If we can positively affect the lives of three million people and their families, if we can transform their lives and help them develop into commercial farmers, and it is sustainable. What a wonderful thing to do!” he says.

The National Union for Small Scale Farmers of Zambia (NUSFAZ) has also acknowledged the challenges noted by Savenda.

NUSFAZ acting executive director Noel Simukonde acknowledges that small scale farmers, especially those dealing in horticultural produce suffer the most at the hands of many compounding factors.

“Many small scale farmers are into horticulture because it gives them an income. But the challenge mostly is on the marketing component which doesn’t support the farmer. Most of these products are consumables whose shelf life is limited so they end up being exploited in the long run,” he says.

In mitigating the factors, Mr Simukonde says the union is also embarking on mechanisms aimed at flipping the tables.

“We have partnered with a firm called TBK Consultants and developed an application that will enable our members to sell their produce online. That way, the agents and middle men will be cut off and give more powers to the farmer,” he says.

Mr Simukonde is also advising farmers to join unions so that they connect with other farmers to learn best farming and marketing practices that will get them out of poverty.

DEC educates on importance of family role in anti-drug campaign

AS the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) battles drug and substance abuse among the youth, a healthy family environment has been identified as an important tool in deterring adolescents from going astray.

It has been proven that homes in which children are adequately parented can play a big role in dissuading youths from falling prey to social vices.

According to the DEC, Southern Province is among the regions that are affected by high levels of drug and alcohol abuse among adolescents.

For this reason, the DEC in Livingstone has embarked on an exercise to sensitise parents on good parenting skills in an effort to stop drug and substance abuse among youths through improved and strengthened family ties.

Twenty-seven parents and guardians from Maramba township, whose Malota and Zecco compounds are notorious for drug and substance abuse, were recently trained under this programme.

Charles Makumeli, a father of four, who is also keeping five grandchildren, is one of those people that underwent training.

Mr Makumeli is happy to have been selected for the training because he believes it will benefit him and children under his care.

“Malota is a very notorious place and learning these parenting skills will most definitely help me raise my children in a very good way,” he says.

Speaking at the launch of the Second Family and Parenting Skills Training at Shungu Primary and Secondary School in Maramba township here recently, DEC Southern Province regional commander Elizabeth Mumba said improving parent and child relations is a major goal of any drug abuse prevention and intervention programme.

Ms Mumba said the family environment influences every aspect of a child's life. "Abuse of alcohol and other drugs have continued to be a threat to our nation which if left unchecked can cause serious health, social and economic problems," she said.

Youths as well as adults in Zambia are vulnerable to unhealthy behaviours which include alcohol and drug abuse. These vices thrive on easy access to the substances, idleness due to poor opportunities for education, poverty, a violent environment and having the financial clout to afford the substances, some of which are costly.

“Family attachment, supervision, and family norms are strategies and pathways that protect children and youth from drug use,” said Ms Mumba.

She added: “Because the family environment influences every aspect of a child’s life, improving parent-child relations should be a major way of any prevention and intervention programme, hence this training.”

The first ‘Family and Parenting Skills Training’ programme in the district was launched at Dambwa United Church of Zambia (UCZ) where 20 parents were trained.

Under the programme, parents and guardians are taught better ways of communicating with their children in order to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.

Ms Mumba interacting with the participants.

"We expect children to be free with their parents in communicating issues that may be affecting them and possibly lead to the abuse of alcohol and other drugs," she said.

Acting DEC Livingstone officer in charge Tasila Makala said the eight week training programme will also help parents and guardians in identifying common behaviours in children involved in substance abuse.

"It will also give the parents the skills needed to deal with the said behaviours. We are hopeful that it will yield the intended results," she said.

In June last year, the DEC conducted a raid dubbed ‘Chalo Bantu’ in Malota and arrested over 100 people for drug-related offences.

Out of those arrested, it was later discovered that three were former pupils of Shungu Primary and Secondary school.

It is for this reason that school head teacher Orgency Malumbe is happy with the training programme.

He feels it will help keep his 1, 115 pupils in school.

“We are located in the heart of Maramba which is notorious for drug and alcohol abuse, so for us, this is a good initiative because it will benefit us in the end and help keep the children in school," Mr Malumbe said.

He said the school administration has been engaging the DEC, especially on open days to talk to the pupils and sensitise them on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

“We have seen and felt it today that the DEC is not just about arresting and prosecuting, but also educating (people). This is very much encouraged and we are happy to have been chosen and included in the programme,” he said.

Other parents that are among the 27 undergoing training and are all optimistic that the training will bear fruit include Konda Nkhoma, Susan Sibajene, Elizabeth Mwandwe, Celestina Phiri, Susan Chewe and Albertina Haloba.

Precious Ngwira who is in charge of education and counselling at the DEC in Livingstone says the commission is looking forward to training as many parents and guardians as possible in the tourist capital.

“Many young lives have already been lost due to substance abuse. It is therefore important that we do something about it to avoid any more loss of life to something that can be totally avoided. It is my prayer that the parents and guardians take this training seriously,” she said.

With adequate training of parents in parenting skills, the DEC expects that this will improve communication between children and their parents or guardians. Open communication should culminate into the youth having open discussions with their parents on matters affecting them so that they do not fall prey to such social vices as drug and alcohol abuse.