The scheme is a flagship investment under the Strengthening Climate Resilience of Agricultural Livelihoods in Agro-Ecological Regions I and II in Zambia (SCRALA) project, funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the Water Resources Management Authority, and the Zambia Meteorological Department.  

Delivered across 16 districts spanning Eastern, Lusaka, Muchinga, Southern, and Western Provinces, the project promotes climate-smart agriculture, improved water systems, climate information services, and enhanced market access. It is expected to reach approximately 940,000 people across Zambia, strengthening food security and supporting the commercialisation of climate-resilient agricultural commodities. 

Across 16 districts in Muchinga, Eastern, Southern, Lusaka and Western provinces, the SCRALA project has been quietly assembling the building blocks of a complete food system. It starts with early warning system: 20 automatic weather stations and 220 rain gauges installed across the project areas now give farmers timely climate and agricultural advisories, enabling them to make informed decisions about when to plant, what to grow, and how to manage water. On the ground, conservation agriculture practices promoted through the project are helping farmers restore soil health and adapt their production to increasingly erratic conditions. Centres of excellence embedded in communities serve as living demonstration sites, where farmers learn and practice these techniques firsthand.  

Where crops alone are not enough, the project has supported alternative livelihoods: goat rearing, fish farming, and beekeeping are giving households additional income streams that hold even when a harvest disappoints. Village savings groups, with a majority of members being women, are building the financial buffers that help families absorb shocks without falling back into poverty.  

And when produce is ready, the project ensures it does not go to waste or sell for less than it is worth. In Kazungula, the Kabuyu Bulking Centre, with a capacity of 700 metric tonnes, is connecting farmers directly to the Ministry of Education's school feeding programme through the World Food Programme, turning local harvests into a reliable supply chain that feeds children and sustains farmer incomes at the same time. In Mambwe district, the Msoro Bulking Centre, commissioned in September 2025 and capable of storing 700 metric tonnes of produce, will benefit over 7,000 farmers in Eastern Province. In Nyimba, a bulking centre with similar storage capacity is reducing post-harvest losses and opening structured market opportunities for smallholder cooperatives.  

In Chirundu, the project commissioned a 23-hectare Tauya solar-powered irrigation scheme in 2024, where farmers are already earning from year-round banana and maize cultivation. Similar irrigation schemes and bulking centres are at various stages of construction across other SCRALA districts, progressively extending this integrated food system to more farming communities. Malombe Irrigation is the latest addition to this system, not a standalone infrastructure project, but a piece of an integrated value chain that takes a farmer from seed to sale.  

Underpinning its long-term sustainability, a Memorandum of Understanding already signed between the IMIKAYA Cooperative, the Ministry of Agriculture, UNDP, the Barotse Royal Establishment, and a private sector partner ensures that the cooperative has the technical knowledge, capacity, and guaranteed market linkages it needs to make this investment endure long after the commissioning ceremony. 

The scheme is also anchored in community ownership. The 73 households of the IMIKAYA Cooperative are not passive recipients of infrastructure, but active managers of it. This model places responsibility and returns within the community, strengthening both accountability and long-term sustainability. For farmers, this changes the equation. Production is no longer a gamble on rainfall or buyers. It becomes a coordinated system where weather, inputs, water, knowledge, and markets are aligned. 

Beyond the scheme itself, the impact is expected to extend across the district economy. Increased and predictable production creates opportunities for agro-processing, transport services, and local trade, while stable incomes at household level translate into improved food security, school attendance, and reinvestment in farming. At scale, such investments contribute to poverty reduction and support Zambia's broader transition towards a more resilient and commercially driven agricultural sector. 

"We are deeply grateful to His Excellency the President for taking the time to visit the Malombe Irrigation Scheme. The support and training we have received through the SCRALA project and the Government has been transformative for our cooperative and our livelihoods."— Ross Masiye, Chairperson of the IMIKAYA Cooperative.

The United Nations Development Programme, which provides technical oversight for the project, views the scheme as a practical model for climate-resilient agriculture in drought-prone regions. 

"This investment valued at USD224,000 is part of the USD32 million UNDP support to Government’s response to climate change shocks in 16 districts across 5 provinces of Zambia’s most vulnerable communities.

The Malombe Irrigation Scheme sets a good example of how government and cooperating partners can collaborate with local communities and the private sector in achieving national development goals and building resilience to climate change," said Mr. Gregory Saili on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme Dr. James Wakiaga.

Agriculture supports about 60 percent of Zambia's population, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed systems. As climate change intensifies droughts and rainfall variability, investments like Malombe Irrigation are not only about increasing production. They are about reducing risk, strengthening rural economies, and enabling smallholder farmers to participate more competitively in agricultural markets. 

With the centre pivot now in motion, the farmers of IMIKAYA are no longer farming around uncertainty. They are farming within a system designed to deliver. 

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For more information and media interviews, contact: 

Theresa Kinkese, SCRALA Project Manager: Theresa.kinkese@undp.org 

Mercy Khozi, Communications Analyst, mercy.khozi@undp.org