Zambia and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have launched the Catalyzing Transformative and Sustainable Food Systems in Zambia project, a two-year initiative aimed at accelerating food systems transformation and strengthening food security.
The project will support the review of food systems pathways and food and nutrition coordination guidelines, strengthen governance and monitoring frameworks, and enhance institutional capacity for food systems planning, coordination and implementation.
The project was launched in Lusaka by the Government, through the Office of the Vice President, in partnership with FAO. It is funded through FAO’s Technical Cooperation Programme and seeks to improve nutrition, resilience and sustainable livelihoods.
Permanent Secretary for Administration in the Office of the Vice President, Lillian Kapusana, said the challenges facing Zambia’s food systems were interconnected.
“They span agricultural production, nutrition, food safety, climate resilience, livestock development and markets. Therefore, a systems approach to achieving food security and nutrition cannot be over-emphasized,” Kapusana said.
She said Zambia had made progress in reducing stunting from 35 percent in 2019 to 32 percent in 2026, but significant challenges remained in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2, which seeks to end hunger by 2030.
Kapusana highlighted the need to diversify food production and consumption beyond maize.
“The significance of this project lies not only in the activities to be implemented, but in the manner in which it brings institutions together around a common food-systems agenda and a shared set of results,” she said.
FAO Representative in Zambia, Suze Percy-Filippini, said transforming food systems could not be achieved by one institution, sector or project working alone.
She said the process required strong national leadership, effective coordination and sustained collaboration among the Government, development partners, the private sector, civil society, academia, farmers and communities.
Filippini said FAO’s vision was anchored on Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life, leaving no one behind, adding that the ambition was to catalyse long-term change beyond the project’s lifespan.
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“Our intention is not simply to implement another set of activities. It is to help strengthen, connect and scale up solutions that can deliver sustainable results for the people of Zambia,” Filippini said.
She said the initiative was built around four complementary outputs.
The first, led by the National Food and Nutrition Commission, will strengthen governance and coordination, while the second will focus on the sustainable production and consumption of diversified, nutrient-dense crops.
The third output seeks to strengthen national food safety governance, surveillance and compliance mechanisms, including traceability protocols for honey and bee products.
The fourth will support the operationalisation of Zambia’s Animal Identification and Traceability System to strengthen livestock disease surveillance, food safety, movement control and market access. This will include finalising the AITS strategy and building the capacity of veterinary personnel.
The initiative contributes to transforming Zambia’s food systems to deliver improved food security, better nutrition and resilient livelihoods through interventions promoting stronger governance, climate-smart agriculture, food safety, market development and livestock traceability.
The launch brought together representatives from Government ministries, development partners, United Nations agencies, academia, civil society, the private sector and farmer organisations, reflecting the broad partnership required to advance the food systems transformation agenda.
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