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Far off the beaten track and nestled deep in the Mopane woodlands, sharing their Chiefdom with Zambia’s wild animals, lies Malama. In a Chiefdom that is completely isolated from the outside world during the rainy season due to the poor road structure, and where the residents share their fields and resources with animals, access to a formal marketplace to sell their crops seemed unattainable.
Making history in the Chiefdom with the help of BCP’s market linkage and arrangement of transport, 25 farmers sold a combined total of 10.928 tons of soybeans straight from their doorstep to the buyer, Kalawani General Dealers, in this direct market linkage. A linkage such as this for predominantly subsistence farmers in the Chiefdom opens up a whole new arena of trade and business opportunities. When a farmer lacks market access it creates insecurity at a household level as to the future of that household’s survival.
“I am a first-year soybeans grower and I have managed to sell about 7 x50kg bags of Soybeans giving me a total of K3,150.00. With this market linkage that BCP has created, I am very excited because I have been able to save K420.00 on transport. Transport in Malama is a problem due to the poor road networks and we are surrounded by wild animals. I was worried about finding a market for my soybeans. I have many dependents, and as a widow looking after my family all fall on me. But I am very hopeful for my future now with this market linkage creation. Not only do I have a supplier for my crop, but with the surplus, I can focus on other business ventures”.
Loveness Mwanza, Malama Chiefdom.
