Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene 2014 Sept - Oct Vol. 9 No.5 | Page 11

NEWS in brief
The 595-hectare Nega-Nega Irrigation Scheme is part of
the AfDB-Finland financing partnership to the Zambian
Government involving the construction of four irrigation
schemes in Mazabuka and Sinazongwe districts. It has
developed a bulk water supply system and irrigation scheme
to draw water from the Kafue River for 148 households,
including 16 female-headed and the beneficiary population
is 1,200. The scheme cost US $9.2 million. Farmers have
incorporated Manyonyo Irrigation Company (MIC) as a
private limited company and recruited a team of professional
staff to manage the infrastructure and the sugar enterprise.
Zambia Sugar Plc has provided a market quota of 595-ha
and helped farmers to establish a 35-ha nursery. Through
their company the farmers have acquired a financial loan of
US $577,903 for crop establishment.
This business approach has forged mutually inclusive and
productive partnership among large scale commercial firms
and smallholder farmers to create a sustainable win-win
situation. From a baseline annual income of US $500 per
household, the Nega-Nega farmers are expected to earn
about US $10,000 from 2015 onwards.
August 15 is World Portable Sanitation Day
By Cor Dietvorst

Global Highlights

India: Big push for small cities
By Prakhar Jain

The run-up to elect
a new government
brought sanitation
to the fore of public
conversation
in
India. Last month,
Prime Minister Modi
declared sanitation
as
a
national
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
priority, announcing
‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, a sanitation programme dedicated
to creating clean India by 2019 as a tribute to Mahatma
Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
Whether or not this plan succeeds may depend on whether it
is simply a repackaged programme such as the ‘Nirmal Bharat
Abhiyan’ that was focused entirely on building toilets in rural
India, or a renewed commitment to improve sanitation in
both the rural and urban areas. As India urbanizes, demand
for effective and sustainable sanitation services will increase.
India, with 11% of the world’s urban population currently,
accounts for 46% of global urban open defecation.

We already had World Toilet Day on 19
November. Now, starting in 2014, we have
World Portable Sanitation Day (WPSD),
initiated by the Portable Sanitation
Association International (PSAI), on
August 15.
The aim of the celebration is to raise awareness about the
need to expand access to sustainable sanitation. The PSAI
estimates that portable sanitation can save 125 million
gallons (470 million litres) of fresh water daily, as well as
have a significant impact on productivity and fuel savings at
construction sites.

The PSAI has over 550 portable restroom organizations in
34