German projects in Africa are mostly small ones, which is also the case with the German-Zambian Agricultural Knowledge and Training Center (AKTC). This project, located 65 km north of the capital Lusaka, is run by the agriculture ministries of both countries.
Training in modern farming methods, accompanied by fertilizer and tractor use, has enabled farmers to increase the use of agricultural land more than sevenfold. Farmers can get a license for tractors within less than two weeks and start working with better technology input right away.
AKTC has so far trained about 18,000 Africans, since the center was established in 2014. Still a pilot project, the AKTC shows that an expansion of cooperation and similar projects in other countries can do more to improve farming productivity in Africa.
A special asset of Zambia happens to be the minerals in its soil. Estimates are that the nation has the resources to produce fertilizer for all of Africa, which is an unbeatable argument for building up the fertilizer production sector in the nation.
