Women in Chitungulu area of Lumezi District have recorded notable improvements in household nutrition and income through a poultry project funded by the Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Project (ZIFLP) which has now transitioned to the Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Program (EP-JSLP).
The Chitungulu Livelihood and Nutrition Project is one of 81 community groups in Eastern Province that benefited from the US$5.3 million disbursed under ZIFLP’s community subgrants component funded by the world Bank.
Project Chairperson Josias Banda said the group received K1.4 million in 2022 to establish the poultry project, which has significantly improved their livelihoods.
Mr. Banda explained that the funds were used to purchase 200-layer chickens for egg production and to construct a poultry house. He noted that the initiative has helped the rural community shift from unsustainable natural resource use to alternative livelihoods such as egg production.
“This project has had a transformative impact the community is benefiting from the project as they no longer have to travel to Lumezi to buy eggs,” he said.
And EP-JSLP Programme Coordinator Noel Muchimba said the subgrant under ZIFLP was designed to provide incentives for communities to move away from unsustainable natural resource exploitation.
He added that the interventions aimed to enhance the economic and environmental benefits for rural communities in the province through income-generating activities.
“The community subgrants targeted three sectors—agriculture, forestry, and wildlife—supporting ventures such as beekeeping, fish farming, goat rearing, vegetable production, and agro-processing,” Mr. Muchimba said.
And Chief Chitungu thanked the World Bank for funding the project and expressed satisfaction with its positive impact.
The traditional leader noted that charcoal production in the area has reduced as a result of the interventions supported by the World Bank.
ZIFLP, which preceded the Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Programme (EPJSLP), was implemented from 2017 to 2024 with the goal of improving rural livelihoods while promoting environmental sustainability in Eastern Province.
ENDS.
