Catholic Relief Services

SCIAF began working with Catholic Relief Services in 2008, supporting a project which focuses on livelihood recovery activities in the Dioceses of Mongu and Livingstone in Zambia for 8,000 small scale farmers (with 48,000 dependents).

Farmers from both districts have been devastated by recurrent droughts and floods and as a result suffer from chronic poverty, Catholic Relief Services works with these farmers to increase their household food security.

Catholic Relief Services is working to increase food security and resilience through sustainable agriculture, crop diversification, adding value to produce,small stock rearing and improving the nutrition of households affected by HIV and AIDS.

SCIAF has brought Catholic Relief Services together with three other organisations in western and southern Zambia in a programme which promotes rural food security in the country. This programme promotes sustainable farming practices to increase long term food security of small scale farmers’ households. Catholic Relief Services’ role in this programme is to work with individual farmers as well as co-operative farmer groups and self-help nutrition groups in the Sesheke, Shangombo and Mongu areas of Zambia.

In September, SCIAF took all four partners on a study tour visiting Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Burundi. The study tour allowed members of each organisation to view different techniques, such as organic agriculture and agro-forestry, in practice and successfully improving food security among farmers. The aim of the study tour was to stimulate the participant’s knowledge and understanding of different approaches and techniques that can be used to improve food security.

In August 2009 SCIAF gave a grant of over £280,000 to Catholic Relief Services to help them continue with their work.