Rice production innovation platform

The rice chain innovation platform encourages everyone from farmer to retailer to participate. This helps to address bottlenecks in the availability of inputs, such as seed and fertilizer, and in the movement of the rice from the grower to the processors and onto the table.

To achieve this RIU Zambia has partnered with the Common Market for Conservation (COMACO) The support offered includes:

• improving access to market
• enhancing access to better rice seed by rice farmers in the Chambeshi flood plains of the Northern Province of Zambia.

This support will mitigate the exploitation of natural resources, such as wildlife and forests, by offering communities (small -scale farmers) sustainable alternative source of livelihood through rice production.

A total of 80 tons of seed will be accessed by small scale farmers during the 2010 planting season, which will also be part of the seed multiplication programme. At least 3000 small-scale farmers are expected to be reached under this collaboration.

RIU Zambia has utilised its Flexibility Fund initiative to support the rice value chain.