Zambia - Small-Scale Irrigation Project (SIP)

The Small-Scale Irrigation Project (SIP) is a Bank Group response to the Government of Zambia's request for assistance in financing three projects in the agricultural sector in 1998. This project is articulated around three essential components. It aims to increase food production and household income of the target group of the project. The main expected outcomes are: increased Agriculture’s contribution to GDP by more than 17.3% by PY6; the 25% maize deficit eliminated; household income increased from: USD 0.66 to 1.85 for small-holders, and USD 2.05 to 9.30 for emerging farms by the end of the project. The first is related to the development of irrigation, consisting of establishing and rehabilitating 1,890 ha of small scale sustainable projects. The second component focuses on building savings and the provision of rural credit to improve the access of farmers' groups to financial resources to undertake agricultural activities in the short and medium term and to obtain agricultural inputs. The credit fund should be routed through a local commercial bank for retrocession to legally registered FCOPs via a competitively selected microfinance institution. The third is capacity building of executing agencies and the management of target groups in various fields.