Barchett

Francine Barchett

IARD 4960

Terry Tucker

25 Aug 2017Zambia Internship Reflection

Although I thought my Zambia internship as a CALS Global Fellow would pale in

comparison to my culturally rich, research-intensive India internship the previous summer, my

time in Zambia surprisingly usurped it. Not only did my Zambian internship help refine my

research skills, but it also taught me essential lessons on independent living, safety, friendship,

navigation, and even cooking.

I worked with the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR), a think-

tank that provides evidence-based policy recommendations to the Government of Zambia (GoZ).

My research was particularly exciting because unlike my India internship, the project was a desk

assignment from my research team, meaning the GoZ and other research groups had requested

its publication. My research evaluated the Cashew Nut Infrastructure Programme (CNIP) and the

Emergent Farmer Support Programme (EFSP), the GoZ’s newest agricultural programmes.

While the CNIP focuses on reducing poverty and improving food security through cashew tree

development in Zambia’s Western province, the EFSP aims to distribute mechanization loans to

Zambian emergent farmers, who are a bridge between subsistence and commercial farmers.

Applying descriptive statistics and qualitative assessments, my research paper determines

whether the programmes by design can achieve their desired objectives.

In addition to information derived from online articles and GoZ databanks, my work

applies insights from key informant interviews with Ministry of Agriculture officials. Since I

spoke with the person who had planned the CNIP, it was extremely easy to obtain CNIP

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information; however, the EFSP was a wild-goose chase because I could not trace a single

Ministry of Agriculture official aware of its existence! This was a programme described richly in

the Minister of Finance’s budget speech, not to mention allocated funds in the Ministry of

Agriculture’s 2017 budget! I used the opportunity to educate key officials on the EFSP’s

potential and why it deserves more publicity, but also was sure to discuss the programme’s

questionable status and political limbo in my paper’s results and discussion. Besides my essay’s

EFSP section, which is waiting for potential information on the programme’s status, my report is

finished, and ZIPAR promised to help me adapt it for a peer review article!

From building upon my research and critical thinking skills to refining my Microsoft

Excel abilities I developed in India, my Zambian internship was overall a very positive

experience. ZIPAR’s close connections and collaborations with the Government of Zambia made

me realize the importance of deriving firsthand information and revealed how the U.S.

Government’s bureaucratic redlining limits its transparency. Moreover, ZIPAR provided me with

priceless opportunities outside research, including writing an international events quiz for the

country’s annual agricultural trade fair, teaming with fellow intern Siyu Dong to share “cultural

intelligence” insights with ZIPAR associates in a one-hour seminar, and representing the

organization at the World Bank’s annual Zambia Economic Report launch at an upscale hotel.

My time in Zambia taught me to ask informed questions, up my networking game, and view my

agricultural studies not just within one unit or academic discipline but through many distinctive

lenses. My only complaint about the internship was the speed at which work was completed- at

the end of my first week my mentor thought I worked too fast and was trying to impress him!

ZIPAR was not the only place I learned from during my stay in Zambia; the whole

country was my classroom. This summer was the first time in my life I lived independently

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because I had to secure my own housing, figure out city transportation, and find a substitute for

the catered cafeteria meals I was accustomed to. Along with Siyu, I found an affordable, safe,

and impeccably clean home at which to stay, navigated the mini-bus system using Google Maps,

and learned to cook for the first time! My other adventures are too numerous to count, but among

my favorites were sampling new foods (caterpillars, rats, impala, and crocodile are just a few!),

searching off-road for giraffes (with the invaluable assistance of hotel security guards), gazing at

the Victoria Falls, helping a village tour guide strategize his tourism advertisements, and hosting

mini-parties to share my culture’s food with others. Perhaps most meaningful of my experience

was interacting with the Zambians themselves, whose genuinely friendliness and generosity have

made many some of my best friends. And I cannot forget the lessons I learned about privilege-

how my skin color, youth, and especially my nationality gave me a leg up in nearly everything,

from police car stops to special treatment in stores to port of entry exemptions. That reminded

me of how undeservedly fortunate I am, and how I should work all the more hard to address the

issues plaguing those who lack such advantages.

As I begin my second year at Cornell, I am sorrowful that my Zambia days are behind

me, but smile knowing that this summer changed me from a dreamy-eyed girl to a grown-up,

independent young woman. And it makes me wonder: what adventures— in agriculture,

research, and beyond—will I encounter in my next 3 years as a Cornellian?

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Here Siyu and I are clad in African

chitenges with our housing hostess and dear friend, Brenda.

The Victoria Falls were a sight to behold, and the rainbow

made it look like a snapshot of heaven.

Siyu and I made American and Chinese foods for our cultural mini-party, all without using

measuring cups and spoons and missing many ingredients!

Here I am doing one of my favorite things— going on a mountain hike— in a Zimbabwean village.

One of my all-time favorite Zambian foods: groundnuts with cassava! Costing only 2 kwacha

(about 20 cents), this was an affordable and healthy snack.

During one of my long weekends, I went with my Zambian church on a mission trip to Malawi. I loved being with the kids, even though we didn’t speak the same language!

Every week, Siyu and I had briefing meetings with ZIPAR’s Macroeconomics and Monetary

Policy Unit.

Here I am with all my fellow researchers at ZIPAR.

Snippets from My CALS Global Fellows Experience

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