The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has built a food storage shed in the Namwala District of Zambia, helping vulnerable communities survive through the lean “hunger months” that threaten Zambia between the months of August and December.

The project will improve agriculture marketing in the Namwala district, through increasing farmers’ capacity to store food, their access to markets, and their ability to market their produce. It will also help community members collaborate to address issues of food insecurity.

The storage building will serve 205 vulnerable households in three villages that form the farming cooperative. The cooperative includes 100 members from the communities of Hamaamba, Chibwasa, and Mataala.

The Namwala district is located in the southern province of Zambia. “This region of Zambia receives erratic rainfall, and is therefore susceptible to food shortages,” said Hapson Hamukali, country director for the ADRA office in Zambia. ADRA has been working in this area since 2001, promoting sustainable farming practices and encouraging communities in the area to plant drought resistant crop varieties.

Funded by ADRA International, the shed project was completed in four months.

ADRA first opened its office in Zambia in 1986, and is currently active in the eastern, central, southern, and northern regions. ADRA Zambia works in the key areas of Food Security, Disaster Relief, Health Care, Water and Sanitation, and Community Development. Since its inception, ADRA Zambia has benefited more than 7 million people.