Michael Kwan

In Zambia, IDE's first African country program, IDE has found that low-cost irrigation is a very practical way to address the poverty and hunger that have accompanied two decades of recurring droughts and economic decline in Zambia.



Treadle pumps, drip-irrigation systems, and other affordable technologies have been adapted to the local context and distributed through a sustainable network of local private-sector manufacturers and dealers.



Zambia's low population density and long distances between settlements pose a challenge to smallholders wishing access markets for their produce. To help farmers overcome these barriers, IDE Zambia has facilitated linkages between smallholder groups and local supermarkets, vegetable export companies, and other output markets.