FOOD SAFETY KEY TO EXPORTS

FAO and Government call for stronger food safety, nutrition, climate resilience and traceability to unlock markets

By Francis Maingaila ♥️

Lusaka, Zambia24 — 22-09-2026 — Zambia has launched a two-year, US$500,000 project to transform the country’s food systems, with Government stressing the need for better coordination, safer food, improved nutrition, climate resilience and stronger traceability if farmers are to access bigger markets.

The project, known as the Catalyzing Transformative and Sustainable Food Systems in Zambia (CATRAS-FS), was launched in Lusaka yesterday with Government saying the initiative must go beyond meetings and reports and deliver changes that ordinary families and farmers can see.

Permanent Secretary for Administration in the Office of the Vice President, Mrs Lillian M. Kapusana, said the project comes at a time when Zambia is still grappling with poor dietary diversity, climate shocks, food safety risks and limited market access.

Mrs Kapusana said Zambia’s stunting rate had dropped from 35 percent in 2019 to 32 percent in 2026, but more work was needed if the country was to make meaningful progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Two on ending hunger.

She said Zambia’s heavy dependence on maize had also limited dietary diversity, while small-scale farmers continued to face climate variability, post-harvest losses and difficulties in finding reliable markets.

“Food safety risks, including aflatoxin contamination and weak traceability, can undermine public health and market access,” Mrs Kapusana said.

She said CATRAS-FS would help strengthen food systems by supporting nutrition, food safety, livestock development, climate resilience and market access.

Mrs Kapusana said the project would also support the review of nutrition coordination guidelines and the food systems pathways developed in 2021, while strengthening initiatives such as food-based dietary guidelines and animal identification and traceability.

She said the project fitted into Government’s wider Grow Zambia agenda, particularly efforts to improve food security, agricultural productivity, value addition and livelihoods.

The project will be implemented in Solwezi and Zambezi districts of North-Western Province, targeting vulnerable farming households.

Mrs Kapusana said strong coordination would be critical if the project was to deliver lasting results.

“Follow through across sectors, the food systems pathways, and the monitoring and evaluation framework should help governments and partners to understand what is working, where gaps exist and what should be adjusted or scaled up,” she said.

She said Government did not want the project’s gains to disappear once the two-year programme ended.

“Sustainability must be built into implementation from the start,” Mrs Kapusana said.

“Today’s launch should be viewed as the beginning of a collective implementation process.”

FAO Representative in Zambia Suze Percy-Filippini said the project was deliberately designed to leave something behind after the two-year programme.

“By catalysing transformation, we mean supporting national institutions, partnerships, approaches and investments that can generate lasting change beyond the lifetime of a single project,” she said.

Ms Percy-Filippini said food systems touched almost every part of people’s lives, from what farmers produced and what families could afford to eat to children’s nutrition, employment, markets and the country’s ability to withstand climate and economic shocks.

She said Zambia continued to face challenges including limited production diversity, poor market links, post-harvest losses, climate variability, food safety concerns and malnutrition.

“Addressing these challenges requires coordinated action across the entire food system, from production and processing to marketing and consumption,” Ms Percy-Filippini said.

She said FAO would support nutrition-sensitive and climate-smart agriculture, stronger food safety systems, market linkages and the Animal Identification and Traceability System.

Ms Percy-Filippini said the real test of the project would be whether farmers gained better access to markets and families had access to safer and more nutritious food.

FAO Fisheries and Livestock Pillar Lead Dr Niwael Mtuimalamsha said traceability was becoming increasingly important as Zambia sought to expand its presence in export markets.

She said prolonged dry spells, flooding and other climate shocks were already affecting production, food availability and household livelihoods, with the effects also being felt in nutrition, particularly among children.

Dr Mtuimalamsha said farmers needed better production systems, storage and stronger links to markets.

“People who buy from us, especially the export markets, have their standards. The animal has to be able to be traced back to the farm,” she said.

She said buyers increasingly wanted to know where animals and food products came from and how they had been produced.

Dr Mtuimalamsha said the project would therefore strengthen food system governance, diversified and climate-resilient production, food safety and traceability, market linkages and animal identification.

She said the work would be carried out at both national and district levels, with national policies and guidelines being linked to practical activities in selected districts.

National Food and Nutrition Commission Coordinator for Transformation of Food Systems Dr Muntanga Mapani said coordination would be one of the most important parts of the project.

Dr Mapani said Zambia had sometimes worked in silos, with different organisations doing similar things without enough coordination.

“What coordination does is bring everybody together for more impact so that we don't waste resources repeating what another person is already doing,” he said.

He said the project would use existing Government structures rather than creating parallel systems.

Dr Mapani said Zambia’s National Food Systems Pathway should also be reviewed regularly because food systems were constantly changing.

He said NFNC, under the Office of the Vice President, would lead the first output, which includes reviewing food and nutrition coordination guidelines, the National Food Systems Pathway and the monitoring and evaluation framework.

Under Output Two, the Ministry of Agriculture will promote the production, marketing and consumption of more diverse and nutrient-rich crops.

The project will support outgrower schemes, market access and integrated demonstration plots, while communities will receive nutrition education based on the country’s Food-Based Dietary Guidelines.

The programme will also encourage farmers to grow and consume a wider range of crops, including climate-resilient varieties, while helping Government officers strengthen nutrition-sensitive agricultural extension services.

Under Output Three, the project will strengthen Zambia’s food safety system from the farm right through to the consumer.

This will cover food production, processing, packaging, transportation, retail and consumption.

The programme will address concerns such as aflatoxin contamination, pesticide residues and heavy metals, as well as gaps in coordination, surveillance and laboratory capacity.

“Every one of us has a role to play, including the consumer,” the presenter said.

The project will also help Zambia strengthen its ability to meet international food safety standards, an important requirement for expanding exports.

The work will bring together key institutions, including the Ministries responsible for Health, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Commerce and Green Economy and Environment, with support from FAO and other stakeholders.

The programme will further support the finalisation and operationalisation of the national food safety policy and regulatory framework.

The presenter said Zambia had previously relied on sector-specific food safety legislation without an overarching national policy.

The new policy is expected to provide direction across sectors and guide any necessary changes to legislation covering agriculture, fisheries, commerce, green economy and health.

The draft policy has already undergone technical work and is now expected to go through wider consultations, including at provincial level.

Mrs Kapusana thanked FAO for its continued technical support and commended the Ministry of Agriculture, NFNC, Fisheries and Livestock, Health, Green Economy and Environment and cooperating partners for their participation.

She said Government expected the project to turn Zambia’s food systems ambitions into real improvements in nutrition, climate resilience, food safety and livelihoods.