| Japanese (日本語)

在ザンビア日本国大使館
　Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Zambia

 

Japanese Development Cooperation Press Tour

 

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From 18th to 19th August, 2015, the Japanese Development Cooperation Press Tour was held in and around the areas surrounding of Kasama, Northern Province under the co-sponsorship of the Embassy of Japan in Zambia and JICA Zambia office.

This tour was aimed at providing an opportunity for the Zambian press to visit the site of Japanese development cooperation and to deepen their understanding of the accomplishments of Japanese aid. Eventually, members of the press were expected to convey their understanding and experience of the projects to the people of Zambia.

 

The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Hon. Given Lubinda accompanied the team to Kasama. Northern Province Minister, Hon. Freedom Sikazwe and other Government officials were also part of the tour. The five-member press team was drawn from four organizations, namely; National Agricultural Information Service (NAIS), a specialized information wing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, whose role is to disseminate agricultural information through the mass media. Other journalists were from the Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail, and The Post newspaper.

 

On the first day of this press tour, the members visited the site of the Technical Cooperation Project on Community-Based Smallholder Irrigation (T-COBSI), which has been conducted since May 2013 in Northern Province. This project’s main approach is to construct simple irrigation facilities such as small canals and weirs with the locally accessible materials like tree branches. It is mainly led by the TSB officers and extension officers who were trained in the project. These officers organize and involve the local farmers to implement the project. The size of irrigated area by each facility is about 1 hectare and it is steadily and effectively spreading due to its easy technique. In the last year, about 250 irrigation facilities have been made, and the current irrigated area increased to about 300 hectares. The agricultural water to each community enables the vegetable production even in the dry season, resulting in concrete accomplishments such as increased income and improved life style of the local farmers. During the visit to the site, a representative of the farmers explained that when he actually constructed a weir and saw the water level of the river gradually rise, he was very pleased and surprised at the same time.

 

 

On the second day, the commemoration of the first shipment of Zambian coffee to Japan was held under the cooperation of Olam Ltd. and UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. will start using the coffee beans (Arabica) which Olam Ltd. produces in Kasama as raw material for UCC’s products from this year. Olam Ltd. is a Singapore based agricultural trading company widely operating their business all over the world. Olam Ltd. began coffee production in Kasama three years ago and the shipment to Japan was the first harvest. Tetsuya Seki, Director of UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. stated that “Africa is a birthplace of coffee and delivers high-quality coffee, and its importance will grow increasingly. It is expected that by stabilizing the supply quantity and improving the quality, Zambia will earn the trust of the Japanese coffee market and will be a new strategic supplier for our company.” Hon. Lubinda, and Paramount Chief Chitimukulu of Northern Province welcomed the first export of Kasama coffee to Japan with the expectation that Kasama coffee will be revitalized and result in the improvement of income and job creation for the rural farmers.

 

 

 

To read the speech made by H.E. Mr. Kiyoshi Koinuma, Ambassador of Japan to Zambia at the opening ceremony of the press tour, please click here.

 

To read the speech made by H.E. Mr. Kiyoshi Koinuma, Ambassador of Japan to Zambia at the Commemoration of the First Shipment of Zambian coffee to Japan, please click here.