ZAMBIA Jericho Nyirenda is a small-scale farmer in the village of Katandala in Zambia. Jericho is happily married to Jane Phiri and they are proud parents of six children, two boys and four girls.

Four years ago, Jericho was barely managing to cultivate his four hectares (10 acres) of land, a hoe his only means of breaking the soil.

In 2014, Jericho began participating in a village savings and loan association as well as training in conservation agriculture. Both programs were part of the relief and development work supported by World Renew in eastern Zambia meant to establish food security and livelihoods there.

Conservation agriculture training helped Jericho reduce his production costs by teaching him how to use manure as fertilizer, rather than relying on costlier synthetic fertilizer. His connection to the program provided him access to a “ripper,” a farm implement that helps turn soil at a much deeper level than a hoe and has the added advantage of being ox-drawn, allowing for vastly more work with much less effort.

As a result, Jericho now farms 7 hectares (over 17 acres), almost doubling his harvest. This translates to more income for Jericho and Jane and their children. Their participation in the village savings and loan association has given the means by which to save some of this income and, in 2016, they bought a motorbike, greatly easing transportation challenges. “The coming of the relief and development program,” says Jericho “has positively impacted my life!”

Thank you for helping to make this possible!

Blessings,

Ruairidh Waddell

Country Consultant
World Renew Zambia