Musika Zambia has engaged over 460, 000 smallholder farmers across the country to benefit from improved market access for inputs, agricultural products, services and finance in provision of business development services to Zambia’s agricultural sector.
Musika Head of corporate affairs Pamela Hamasaka told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview that the company has partnered with over 80 companies across the country to stimulate and support private investment in the Zambian’s agriculture markets with focus on benefiting the smallholder and emerging farmer markets.
Hamasaka said the 460,000 smallholder farmers are currently benefiting from the improved market development and are provided with a range of services to enhance their ability in agribusinesses. She further disclosed that over US$40 million of private capital has been invested in the small holder market of the new business generated between the agribusiness and smallholders.
She has furthers stated that Musika has provided its corporate partners with commercially focused technical advice and business support to catalyze and strengthen mutually beneficial commercial relationships between the corporate and smallholder farmers.
She added that Musika is also implementing a market development initiative funded by Irish Aid to integrate the maximization of nutrition outcomes for the rural poor, women and children into the Zambian agricultural food markets.
“In accordance with our focus on facilitating private market-based solutions to poverty and poverty-related issues, Musika aims to align incentives and create opportunities with the agricultural economy for the private sector to sustainably and profitably integrate nutrition objectives into its business models that relate to the rural poor,” she said.
She has however called on corporates and the private sector to take keen interest in partnering with Musika to develop business models in the Agric sector in order to broaden the impact of economic growth to all levels of rural society.
Musika is a Zambian non-profit company with a mandate to stimulate and support private investment in the Zambian agricultural markets with a specific focus on the lower end of these markets. Hamasaka also put on record that since the inception of operations of Musika in 2011, it has gained strong reputation in the Zambian market for innovation, results, service delivery and has received recognition on the international development stage for its works in agricultural market development.
