Jersey’s Minister for International Development Carolyn Labey signed an agreement today with Zambia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to roll out Jersey’s renowned dairy aid programme to a fourth African country.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) paves the way for Jersey Overseas Aid and its partner the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society to begin work in Zambia later this year.
These dairy projects, centred around the Jersey cow but also including training for farmers, have transformed milk yields for tens of thousands of smallholders in Rwanda, Malawi and Ethiopia. In Rwanda alone, a female Jersey cross is born every hour.
Minister Labey commented “It is such a pleasure to see our beloved Jersey cow lift so many people out of poverty, and I’m delighted we will now begin this work in Zambia.”
The first project is now being finalised, and will likely reach 10,000 poor families.
Deputy Carolyn Labey also met JOA partner FSD Zambia, which with Jersey’s support has created over 4,000 savings groups for women in rural areas and is enabling 30,000 smallholder farmers to insure their livestock for the first time.
Zambian television gave extensive coverage to Deputy Labey’s visit, which marks the growing cooperation and friendship between the two countries.
