PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative - Livestock (AIDI-L)

Improving productivity and availability of poultry meat and eggs in Zambia.
2023 – 2024

The Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative – Livestock (AIDI-L) is a private sector-led, women and youth focused, livestock-based intervention that is improving food and nutrition security and rural incomes through poultry in Zambia. AIDI is improving productivity and availability of poultry meat and eggs in markets and for households in Zambia by promoting increased access to improved breeds, bundled advisory services, livestock financing, vaccinations, and new poultry farm technologies. This $2 million initiative, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, builds on years of partnership between Venture37 and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a CGIAR research center that is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services. By 2024, the initiative will help 15,000 small-scale, poultry-keeping households acquire increased access dual-purpose backyard village chicks; empower 80 commercial poultry farmers with supplies and capacity development; support 150 women and youth brooders and vendors with increased business orientation and profitability; and reach 375,000 youth and women with agricultural advisory messages through mass media.

PROJECT FOCUS AREAS

1. Increasing Access to Agricultural Inputs and Information

AIDI-L is building the capacity of backyard dual-purpose chicken producers and small commercial poultry producers and providing them with improved inputs and linkages to sustainably improve their poultry production practices.

2. Strengthening Poultry Market Systems

AIDI-L is helping small agribusinesses and commercial farmers to craft and implement demand-driven business models to distribute quality inputs and connect small producers with offtake markets.

3. Developing Sustainable Delivery Pathways for Services and Information

ILRI and Venture37 are piloting public and private sector behavior change communication pathways to small poultry producers as well as chicken meat and egg consumers.

COUNTRY CONTEXT

Zambia

Many rural smallholder households in Zambia practice subsistence poultry farming, but do not have the means to move beyond subsistence poultry farming. AIDI-L will focus its efforts on Copperbelt, Central and Lusaka Provinces of Zambia to help prospects for these households and line businesses with the goal of boosting incomes while improving nutrition outcomes.