Launch of the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute

Before we begin, hail to the Chipolopolo boys! Zambia is in the finals. Zambia has shown such leadership this year as a model democracy and now the Chipolopolo boys are leading in sport.

Today’s launch of the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute will be another example as Zambians take the lead in charting their own economic future and in improving the lives of farmers through their own domestic expertise.

We are together today to express our commitment to furthering agricultural productivity and food security in Zambia. A country’s policies and investment decisions drive agricultural productivity and food security.

Informed decisions about policies and investments increase living standards among the rural poor and improve nutrition.

The American people supported the Food Security Research Project for 10 years as it worked to increase Zambia’s food security.

This important work identified the need to establish a local, autonomous, and Zambian-managed institution to take over the Food Security Research Project’s research and outreach efforts.

Now, the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute will possess credible, impartial research about Zambia’s agriculture policies, programs, and technologies.

Unbiased research data will provide evidence to restructure the Farmer Input Supply Program and Food Reserve Agency for greater economic impact, as indicated in the Ministry of Finance’s recent budget presentation.

In addition to serving the Zambian government, the Institute’s research will support the development of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program’s investment plan for Zambia.

Ultimately, the research will help this Program drastically reduce hunger and poverty through well-placed investments in Zambia’s agriculture sector.

This Zambian policy institute will also inform projects under the United States Feed the Future Initiative.

Feed the Future investments in Zambia will:

• raise 200,000 smallholder farming households out of poverty and
• cut the number of malnourished children under age five by one-third over the next five years.

The American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, once said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” The American people believe in investing in knowledge.

The knowledge derived from the Institute’s research will contribute to informed policy decisions and investments that will pay returns to this entire country for years to come.

The United States unreservedly joins Zambian farmers, among other stakeholders, in supporting the new Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

Zambia’s agricultural potential is immense and we all know this nation can be a breadbasket for the region and beyond.

May the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute be the Chipolopolo boys of agricultural productivity and better lives for Zambian farmers and consumers alike.