The Zambia Agribusiness Technical Assistance Center (ZATAC) is a USAID-funded project initiated in November 1999 and implemented by Bethesda based Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) in consortium with J.E. Austin Associates (Arlington, VA) and Mano Consultancy Services Ltd. (Lusaka, Zambia). ZATAC aims to improve the quality of life of Zambia's rural population through the development of agribusinesses that work with small-scale producers and rural entrepreneurs. The long term strategic plan for ZATAC is to be a self-sustaining Zambian "Centre of Choice" serving the agribusiness sector.

ZATAC's mission is to support and stimulate initiatives, which will: Create and expand markets for Zambia produced agricultural products; Increase incomes of small-scale producers through partnerships with agribusinesses, associations, and cooperatives; and Enhance the development of agribusinesses and other rural agro-enterprises.

Zambia's vast natural endowments of land, water, and favorable climatic conditions provide great opportunities for the rural population to increase income and for Zambian agribusinesses to diversify and develop new markets within and outside Zambia. Improving agricultural productivity as well as increasing production in rural areas contribute to economic expansion and improving the quality of life of the rural population.