Zambia at the 18th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture: Putting Water Stewardship on the Global Stage
Berlin, Germany — 13th to 18th January, 2026
Earlier this year, Berlin hosted the 18th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) under the theme “Water. Harvests. Our Future.” The forum brought together agriculture ministers, policymakers, researchers, and private sector leaders from around the world to confront one of the defining challenges of our time: how to secure water for food production in an era of growing climate stress. For GIZ and its partners in Zambia, participation in the GFFA was not simply an opportunity to observe global policy debate, it was a platform to demonstrate that the stewardship work underway on the ground in Zambia is directly relevant to and aligned with the international water governance agenda. With agriculture accounting for approximately 72% of total global water use, the GFFA placed the water-agriculture nexus at the centre of international dialogue. The forum organised discussions across four thematic areas: using water sustainably, strengthening the blue bioeconomy, resolving competing water uses, and improving international water governance. Ministers from 61 countries gathered for the Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference on 17 January, debating concrete commitments on water resilience, sustainable food systems, and climate adaptation.
Zambia’s Strategic Delegation
Zambia was represented by a multi-sectoral delegation that embodied the country’s integrated approach to water governance. Led by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, Eng. Romas Kamanga accompanied by Dr Choongo, Principal Water Officer for the Department of Water Resources Development, the delegation included technical experts from the Ministry, the Director of the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) — who also serves as Secretariat for the Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI) Eng Kelvin Chitumbo and senior representatives Ezekiel Sekele from Zambeef Products Plc and Dr Duncan Tembo from Zambia Sugar Plc as major agricultural water users and members of the Kafue Flats Joint Action Group (KFJAG) and a team from the GIZ Zambia Water And Energy Cluster who facilitated the mission including the Cluster Coordinator Anke Peine Ellis, AWARE II Project Manager Christian Henschel and NatuReS Country Coordinator Adjoa Parker.
This public-private composition demonstrated to international partners that Zambia’s water governance model is not confined to government, it actively involves the private sector as responsible stewards of shared water resources.
From Fragmentation to Action: Zambia Speaks on the Global Stage
A highlight of the mission was Zambia’s participation in Expert Panel 4: “From Fragmentation to Action: Strengthening Water Governance for Resilient Agri-food Systems,” hosted by WaterAid, Welthungerhilfe, and the German WASH Network. PS Kamanga delivered a statement showcasing Zambia’s proactive legislative reforms as a model for climate-resilient water governance.
He highlighted the comprehensive amendment of the Water Resources Management Act — a modernisation of a 16-year-old legal framework aligned with the 2024 National Water Policy — and the new Statutory Instrument on Rainwater Harvesting and Storage. These reforms, developed in direct response to the devastating impacts of the 2024 El Niño drought, represent a shift from reactive drought management to a proactive resilience framework. The panel, which also featured Germany’s Water Director at the Federal Ministry for the Environment Dr Miriam Haritz, provided Zambia with international visibility and positioned the country as a forward-looking voice in global water governance.
Stewardship in Dialogue: Engagements with BMZ and German Water Partnership
Beyond the formal panels, the delegation engaged in bilateral meetings that translated global commitments into action. At a high-level exchange with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), discussions focused on balancing competing water demands between agriculture and energy, a challenge that is acutely felt in Zambia’s Kafue Basin, where hydropower, irrigation, and ecosystem needs increasingly converge. The potential introduction of abstraction charges as a sustainable financing mechanism for water resource management institutions was explored as part of a longer-term vision for financial sustainability.
At the German Water Partnership (GWP) premises, the delegation engaged in a Round Table discussion with private sector water technology companies working in irrigation, metering, wastewater treatment, rainwater harvesting, and solar-powered water solutions. These conversations opened concrete pathways for pilot partnerships in Zambia, with follow-up expected on topics including smart metering, energy contracting models, and bulk water supply through public-private partnerships.
A meeting with KfW established a roadmap for the Ministry to develop concept notes for water security projects, leveraging the Zambia Water Investment Programme (ZIP) to attract international financing for critical infrastructure gaps.
The WEFE Nexus: Connecting the Dots in Zambia
Underpinning much of the mission’s technical content was the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus, the integrated planning framework that recognises water as a driver of national economic and food resilience rather than simply a utility to be managed in isolation. In discussions with GIZ and BMZ, the delegation explored how domesticating the WEFE Nexus in Zambia would help move planning away from fragmented, sector-by-sector approaches towards coordinated investment that serves agriculture, energy, and ecosystems simultaneously.
These discussions had direct implications for the Natural Resources Stewardship (NatuReS) Programme’s stewardship work. The Kafue Flats Joint Action Group (KFJAG), which brings together large agricultural water users in one of Zambia’s most water-stressed and ecologically significant basins, illustrates the cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder approach that the WEFE Nexus demands. The GFFA reinforced KFJAG’s relevance as a model not only for Zambia, but for the wider region.
Why This Matters for NatuReS’s Work
The 18th GFFA affirmed what NatuReS has been building in Zambia: that sustainable water management requires strong governance frameworks, multi-stakeholder platforms, and a private sector that acts as a responsible partner not simply a user of shared resources. The global policy commitments made in Berlin resonate directly with NatuReS’s work on the ground:
- LuWSI, as a multi-stakeholder water security platform with strong buy-in from various stakeholders, embodies the inclusive, cross-sectoral governance that the GFFA called for in addressing fragmented water management.
- KFJAG demonstrates how industry can be engaged as a steward investing in catchment health, contributing to regulatory compliance, and co-managing shared water resources alongside government and civil society. All of this while enhancing operational efficiency and profitability.
- Zambia’s legislative reforms supported through NatuReS’s policy advisory work — are now visible on the international stage as practical examples of countries moving from fragmentation to action.
As global attention turns toward the 2026 UN Water Conference, Zambia’s participation in the GFFA has helped ensure that the country’s voice, its governance reforms, and its stewardship partnerships are part of the international conversation. The mission was not just about visibility, it generated tangible follow-up commitments with BMZ, KfW, and the German Water Partnership that will carry forward into NatuReS’ final implementation period and beyond.