Vice President Guy Scott has said that Zambia has become a grain hub for the entire Southern African region because of the good agriculture policies being implemented by the government.
Dr. Scott says neighbouring countries are importing maize from Zambia making it a ‘power house’ in the region.
Dr. Scott said Zimbabwe and Kenya are among countries that are buying maize from Zambia.
The Vice President said this in Chongwe yesterday when he officiated at this year’s Chakwela Makumbi traditional ceremony of the Soli people at Makuyu palace for Chieftainess Nkomesha Mukambo II .
He however regretted that despite this good record payments to farmers in Chongwe who sold maize to the Food Reserve Agency-FRA was caused by bureaucratic tendencies.
Dr Scott however assured the farmers country-wide that government has released over K1.1 trillion to pay those who supplied maize to the FRA before the crop marketing season ends on October 31st.
He further disclosed that government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives has delivered 47,850 x 50 kilogram bags of basal dressing fertilizer and an additional 13,200 metric tones of both ‘D’ compound and urea (top dressing).
Dr. Scott said government has started distributing the 2012/2013 farming inputs.
And Dr. Scott says government will soon do away with the culture of taking gifts to the chiefs but instead take development closer to the chiefs.
He explained that empowering traditional leaders with decent accommodation is better than giving them donations.
Dr. Scott also disclosed that Chongwe district Hospital which is in phase-two of construction will cost K14 billion when completed and fully fledged.
And speaking earlier, Chieftainess Nkomesha Mukambo II commended the government for the development projects in agriculture, health, education and other sectors in the district.
Chieftainess Nkomesha who spoke through her representative John Luputa further said the re-alignment of Sibuyunji and other three districts in Lusaka province would give local people an opportunity to benefit from government programmes and commended President Michael Sata for the decentralisation policy.
Lusaka Province Minister Gerry Chanda said government recognizes the role chiefs play in national development and advised them against engaging in politics.
Colonel Chanda said Zambia was founded on the ‘One Zambia, One nation” motto which entails love and unity adding that it was therefore inappropriate for chiefs to dwell on politics of ‘divide and rule’.
Chakwela Makumbi, literary meaning gathering clouds to bring rains, is a ceremony where Chieftainess Nkomeshya asks ancestral spirits to provide rains to her people.
Area Member of Parliament Sylvia Masebo, Ministry of Chiefs cabinet ministers, Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Permanent Secretary Colliad Chibbonta, Lusaka Mayor Daniel Chisenga , visiting chiefs and tourists were among those who attended the rich and colourful ceremony.
ZANIS
Which goverment?Paya Farma govt?You must be joking.Since Paya Farma took over agriculture is getting to its worst.That good gains to talk about were left by mmd.Right now there is uncertainity what this farming season will be like.I used to think Scott had been spared from the dementia sydrome that has overtaken Paya Farma govt.I was wrong
Farmers are not paid for the maize supplied to FRA.Inputs not reaching the rural areas and this is End of October. How good are your Agric policies when the above are not addressed.
In Zambia Agriculture plays a key role of supporting industries by the production of the required raw materials , producing exportable agricultural goods, genarating employment particularly in rural areas, as well as provinding food stuffs essential for the sustenance of acceptable nutrition stardards and levels.
To achieve the Government’s role, the ministry has the following objectives:-
1.To effectively plan, monitor and evaluate agricultural sector programmes;
2.To promote agricultural production by provinding policy guidelines to action programmes
you are sick in the head. who told you about those objectives when dont work for that ministry but just loitering on matero streets with a protruding ASSS
Just say sorry to famers, iwe whiteman twalemona ati limbi walikwata amano.
Racism OUT .. Should you be called Blackman, is this good???
Racism does not lead to progress. If you thought that by virtue of being white he had superior know-how, you must be suffering with inferiority complexities.
Scott is a team player, and when you are in government, there are established systems the world over, by which successive governments operate.
Racism and tribalism is man’s gravest threat to man; the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason and I will condemn any vile blogger on this site who goes down this road. Please take yourself and your stinking feeble minded rubbish to Zambian Watchpig.
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Senility really catches up resulting in kusabaila. Grain hub, how about the cotton farmers sir. Grain hub, yes,but in another era, not yours sir. Yellow maize, here we come, this time next year. You promised 30 bags of fertiliser to farmers as FISP. Where are they? The farmers are still waiting. Is there any promise that you are going to fulfill you people? BA64, 30 bags fertiliser, jobs, small cabinet, no load shedding, etc etc.
Good policies designed & implemented by MMD which you’re busy dismantling.The fact that Zim & Kenya are buying maize exposes zed’s weaknesses.These countries have less arable land that they smartly use for higher value crops with bigger forex returns than maize.You have half baked agri-policies and worse implementation Sir.
PF is dangerous evryone is simply growing in stupidity. Scot is depreciating mentally at alarming rates and will be a total fool in two months. This nosense of just abusing their mouths saying absolutely baseless things is exposing PF. God save Zambians from their own foolishnes by voting for PF on tribal lines and accepting their lies. The Lozis are still morning todate for voting foolishly above all other tribes
Please where do you get this nonsense from. MMD got 10 seats in Western Province. UPND got 4. PF got 2 seats. ADD won 1 seat. The Presidential results were also in that order. So please stop with your Lozi hatred. Those parliamentary results in Western Province should actually be the envy of the other provinces who vote like sheep. The people who are responsible for Sata’s victory are those in Lusaka, Copperbelt, Northern and Luapula Provinces!
Well said sir.As one of the people whose company is on the ground closely working with FRA in the distribution i can confidently say you have done a very commendable job MR scott and your government.Never before have i seen a pay check coming from government within a month after doing the job.Thumbs up….you are indeed on a good course.
Shall we be truthful on this blog! Unless, you know someone pulling the strings, I cannot believe that FRA have paid you. Why only you? I also transport maize for FRA and like the farmers, I am also waiting to be paid from last season. Kindly advise who your contact is… It’s one Zambia one nation.
The more this man talks the more one wonders how he got his PhD
he lecured at the prestigious cambridge uni in the 70s mind you
1970… no wonder he has out lived his usefulness
This is the same CHONGWE District Hospital developed by the MMD which one of the stupidest two Zambian chiefs rejected as not development but now praises the PF who are reaping where they did not sow!
The good agriculture policies and the chongwe district hospital are MMD initiatives. What has PF done anyway.Absolutely nothing.
Lies have an expiry date, its just a matter of time, the PF will be grounded to their knees and apologize
#7, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE I CAN LISTEN FROM ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS IN ZAMBIA. THE OTHER I CAN SEE ARE JUST BARKING WITH NO EXPERIENCE ON THE GROUND. THE FACT THAT THE GOVT IS EVEN APOLOGISING MEAN SOMETHING POSITIVE. IN MMD THEY NEVER EVEN APOLOGISED APART FROM MOST OF THE FARMER NOT HAVING BEEN PAID. BESIDES, FARMERS TRAVELED LONG DISTANCES TO GO AND COLLECT THEIR DUES EVEN THEN IT TOOK MONTHS OR YEARS TO COLLECT THEIR MONIES. GOOD WORK GOVT.
MMD losers blogging with nostalgic bitterness. People were tired and weary of your rule. This is a democracy. People had wanted change for a long time, save for the divided opposition. You can whine and whimper but hey, we have just started! You guys had you try in 20 years, and you brought some good things but I can tell you that children who were born in 1991 when you took over were 20 years old in 2011. No job opportunities for them, they kicked you out!
Which policies u damn ghost?
Shut it you slag
Many people are posting comments just to politic! If you want to be a good a critic of the PF, read their manifesto. The record of the PF in handling maize farmers under the FRA arrangement is definately better than MMD! Majority have got their monies within October, 2012. Govt has changed, appreciate that fellows.
If Membe and Nchito paid back what they owe, we would build another hospital!
This Muzugu is good, all u *****s who critisise him are uterly pathetic fools. its. 48 years now , u guys have failed misreably to rule, bring in muzungus, before u perish. timeley warning.Those tha oppose are the thieves in FRA, all loopholes are blocked for u now, *****s.
“…good agriculture policies being implemented by the government…” Please give credit where credit is due. Those are policies you found already in place and inherited from the MMD government. Just don’t try to fix what ain’t broken, a pattern that has characterized your government over the past twelve months.
Very good progress. that means you can now dominate in live stock production due to availability of abundance grain.Take note that this is a God given opportunity and needs to be utilised very very wise to avoid loosing it. You now need to empower the rural small scale farmer with farming equipment, that is tractors, planters, weeders and harvesters. Do it at any cost. Trust me it is a very wise investment for the nation. Invite the makers of such equipment to set up assembly plants in Zambia if not let the government do the assembly. A radical approach is very critical at the moment. Use this window of opportunity to diversfy the economy and create jobs.
Lets call a spade a spade. So in one year u have implementd good agriculture policies that have turned Zambia into a grain hub? Open youe eyes and speak the truth.
The government of geriatrics getting worse by the day. We should retire all these guys into an old people’s home and move his country forward. When it suits them they lie and claim credit for what hey did not do. No fresh ideas that are original.
Ba GUY SCOOT you are not truthful of whats been said you have fake Govt.polices no value to the zambian farmers..H.H can do alot in this sector because he is an agriculturalist not ba Sata ..who has no proffession at all.
I met Guy Scott in the late 80’s when he was a Research associate at Oxford Uni at a conference. We had a chat and in our discussion he did inform me that his family once owned Walkover Estates in Lusaka. They even used to export strawberries to Sainsbury’s. What I am trying to put across is that the man has an agricultural background and knows the benefits of growing high value crops. My view, like alot of educated individuals who end up in politics of the type obtaining in Zambia is that they are in the minority and soon lying becomes the norm as you have to sing from the same hymn sheet. Few have the backbone to stick to what their professionalism dictates for fear of losing their job. This is the case with the good Doc.
MMD under LPM and RB especially, paid much attention to our farmers. current govnment very useless
uyu muzungu anama pa ma tako RB left that hospital, new schools and a new water treatment that was started by LPM
If ndola stadium was named after LPM coz he fought for it, together with the rehabilitation of old independence stadium then the new lusaka stadium must be named after RB because he too fought for it.