As primarily a rural development agency, Farm Zambia is promoting a ‘mixed farming concept’ to maximise the existing agricultural activities at smallholder level. This implies the use of modern techniques/technology to improve output on investment.
As a development agency, Farm Zambia aims at equipping targeted homesteads with viable skills and business sense to manoeuvre around the harsh conditions of Zambia’s agricultural industry.
The Family Chicken Unit (FCU):
This unit has been the starting point to the operation. It is a low cost structure that houses 30 layer birds to produce a minimum of 28 eggs a day for at least 12 months (this is the traditional lifespan of economically viable egg production per hen). With the Family Chicken Unit and basic skills, the running of this business will become part of the recipient. From maintaining the structure to keeping it clean, from marketing to selling the eggs plus eventual re-investment in the form of feed, the FCU will quickly succeed in the hands of a good manager.
The FCU is just one of the many innovations Farm Zambia is implementing. The promotion of a ‘mixed farming concept’ does not restrict its activities in rural areas. The sale of FCU by Farm Zambia in urban Lusaka has proved positive to the varied interest of even the so-called ‘urbanites‘ to engage in farming at an economically viable level.
