WIREDGOV

Help to tackle food security, renewable energy, climate change and water. 

Three Sub Saharan development projects with Scottish links are giving practical, sustainable help to thousands of people in the world’s poorest communities.

External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf announced a £900,000 Scottish Government funding extension for Scottish-based NGOs delivering projects in Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia.

They will receive financial support for an extra year to help them build on their existing work.

Food security, renewable energy, climate change and water are the priority areas being addressed, with thousands of households having been assisted to date.

Minister for International Development Humza Yousaf said: “Scotland is committed to being a good global citizen, addressing challenges faced by those beyond our own shores.

“Partnership working, and achieving real and tangible outcomes on the ground, are integral to the Scottish Government’s International Development policy. The projects linked to today’s announcement reflect this ethos, as well as being clearly focussed on poverty alleviation, which is also a key policy objective.

“I saw during my Zambian visit in January the support being offered to small-scale farmers there, through a SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) programme. SCIAF will continue working with them to increase food production through sustainable agriculture, cutting by two the number of months that farmers do not have their own grown crops, and boosting food consumption by 20 per cent.

“Oxfam Scotland proposes to build on its current project in Tanzania by training more than 5000 farmers in cultivation, savings and credit and business skills. It will also provide advocacy training on accessing land rights and give 500 rice farmers access to irrigation through installing boreholes.

“Tearfund Scotland will work with over 6700 households in Rwandan villages, running self-help groups on savings and credit, as well as sanitation and hygiene awareness. They will also build latrines and rain water collection tanks for 1450 households.

“Today’s announcement shows the Scottish Government is delivering real support for thousands of people in the world’s poorest communities.”

SCIAF Director Alistair Dutton said: “SCIAF is extremely grateful to have received this money. Zambia remains one of the poorest nations in the world in which 75 per cent of the population live in extreme poverty and chronic malnutrition affects 47 per cent of rural households.

“This new money will help 1,300 extremely poor farmers to grow enough food to feed their families. Sustainable farming techniques such as composting, improve the fertility of the soil and increase harvests in the long term.”

Annie Lewis of Oxfam Scotland said: “Oxfam is delighted with the Scottish Government's announcement, extending the sub Saharan funding for a fourth year. This will allow Oxfam to continue to work with partners in Tanzania on projects that support thousands of farmers, both women and men, to become more resilient to the challenges of climate change and to earn a decent living.

“Oxfam's Scottish Government-funded projects are helping farmers to adopt innovative agricultural practices to increase their yields, and to improve their links to markets and supply chains to gain better prices for their produce. Critically, the projects include women as the new role models for enterprise development in small-scale agriculture.”

Lorna McDonald, Head of Programme Funding at Tearfund Scotland said: "We are delighted that the Scottish Government has given Tearfund a grant to extend the existing 'Ending Poverty One Village at a time' project for another year.

“Over 6,700 households in 58 poor and vulnerable communities in Rwanda will benefit by being empowered to increase their income through to micro credit schemes in self help groups. They will also be trained in water conservation and be given tools and knowledge to improve hygiene and sanitation practices which should reduce their susceptibility to water borne diseases."

Notes To Editors

The 12-month funding extensions to continue the schemes until 2016 will be met from within existing Scottish Government International Development Fund budgets.

For year 2015-16:

• Tearfunds’s Ending Poverty One Village At A Time project in Rwanda will receive £299,882
• Oxfam’s Food Security for Tanzanian Farmers in Tanzania will get £300,000
• SCIAF is allocated £294,935 for The Kulima Programme in Zambia

Details of the three international projects and funding breakdowns for 2012-15 are available at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/International/int-dev/Maps/SSA/2012Projects

By 2015, intended outcomes of the three year projects currently underway include:

Tearfund Rwanda

• Train 31,000 households on improved agricultural techniques, enabling increased food production
• Help 24,000 households gain access to clear drinking water and toilet facilities
• Enable 175 villages to better mitigate against disaster, via creation of disaster preparedness plans

Oxfam Tanzania

• Increase income for 4500 rice farmers and 1000 vegetable farmers through greater access to formal loans
• Boost crop yields for 4500 vegetable farmers and 6000 rice farmers via use of fertiliser and irrigation
• Better understanding of the issues around HIV/AIDS, like prevention and treatment, for 10,000 men and 10,000 women

SCIAF Zambia

• Train 1350 farmers in organic farming methods and at least 74 per cent adopting sustainable agricultural practices
• 1000 farmers consuming 20 per cent more calories than before
• 1000 farmers increasing crop production by 15-20 per cent