VICE-PRESIDENT Guy Scott has urged farmers in Zambia to export more maize for the country to increase foreign exchange earnings to help the country stabilise the volatile Kwacha.
Dr Scott also urged farmers to embrace new farming technologies to enhance their production capacities and earn more income.
“Some people are saying the Kwacha is depreciating but what is causing this fall? We should understand that the strength of our currency is dependent on copper but instead let’s export maize to earn the dollar,” he said.
Dr Scott said as a country dependent on copper as the major foreign exchange earner, there is need to diversify so that Zambia can have several avenues to attract foreign exchange.
He said Zambia has not done so badly in being self-reliant in food production and hoped that the country would one day be the breadbasket of southern Africa.
“We want to be the breadbasket of the southern African region but we need to work hard to achieve this and do more to ensure that we are food-secure,” he said.
Dr Scott said buyers of Zambian maize this year will supply the country with the much-needed dollars to help cushion the weakened Kwacha.
He said Government is this year strongly inclined to the exportation of maize and urged farmers to venture into the market to offload their produce so that the country can earn foreign exchange.
Dr Scott said Government is this year targeting to assist hundreds of ordinary poor Zambians with resources to help them move out of their poverty status.
He said instead of giving out maize, vulnerable communities will be helped financially for them to move on.
Dr Scott said there is need to improve the lives of ordinary people to move them from their lower status into medium income levels.
He said farmers should embrace the new farming technologies to be competitive and be more productive to contribute significantly to the country’s food security.
Speaking earlier, Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) Evelyn Nguleka urged farmers to adopt new technologies to keep in line with changing farming methods.
She said the Agritech Expo Zambia is an eye-opener that has come at a time when Zambia’s agriculture sector is improving.
Dr Nguleka said farmers in Zambia embrace the opportunity opened up during the expo to work together and be agents of change in the way farmers should undertake their work.
Meanwhile, Agritech Zambia Limited board chairman Ashok Oza said the expo will be an annual event.
He said the successful hosting of the first-ever Agrictech Expo in Zambia and in Africa has paved way it being an annual event.
Mr Oza said the future of Zambia’s agriculture sector is bright and hoped that the interest generated by all participants to this year’s event will continue into next year.
“As a new company we want this event to be an annual event and we hope this interest from participants across the world will continue so that we build on it for further expansions,” he said.
This Kangaroo must be insane!
How to do expect farmers to export more maize if you have made Maize production a nightmare? No subsidized fertilizer, Lack of fertilizer? Funny bottleneck FRA market monopoly?
Headless Chicken, just how many times did my colleagues apply to the Agriculture Ministry to supply main, and all I got was your stupid “only government to government deals” are allowed.
Have you ever in your life said anything that’s made sense, and in line with what you said even last year.
When people call this Govt CNP, some of us think people are being a little harsh. But then what comes from members of cabinet seems to prove the very lack of direction by this Govt. It is all good logic to say lts export maize to earn the dollar and not be reliant on copper. But lets let’s ask why we are not currently exporting maize? This very Govt banned the exercise a year or so ago in order to deal with the critical shortage of maize on the local market. Now despite the ban Scott wants to flip flop and encourage farmers to export…nut case and HH is vindicated.
Ichipuba cha musungu
When we said PF has no economic policy at all, I for one did not think it was going to be this bad. Scott, where is the maize to be exported when you did not support the farmers to produce it? What will the country feed on once we have all the maize sold out? Chances are that PF wants a crisis economically or otherwise for them to declare a disaster so that we do not hold elections in 2016. What could be the driving force for this level of uselessness kashi?
It’s the quickest way to replace the ruling PF party. Food riots and coups will be around the corner. Besides being useless , this veep is senile!
scott is a foolsh man
I thought FRA buys maize from the farmers then exports…Oh hold on there, are these not the same guys who have put a ban on maize export? I don’t get it when Dr Scott says that.
You can export as an Individual, only government to government they say. That’s what you get when you have a bunch of headless chickens to run government.
Be very careful in 2016. PF ni Zwa
FRA is broke, this is the problem here
Where was the meeting held and who was in attendance? Please report professionally. How long was a his expo?
Bob Schinga messed up the all farming season how do you expect them to export maize?
Although what he says is true, Sata, Scott and his PF have miserably failed to manage the agricultural sector in Zambia. PF confusion has dragged farming backwards by chaotic provision of inputs, inconsistent policy, late payments etc.
If he is serious, he will get rid of the endemic corruption and inefficiency of the FRA by disbanding this drain on the nations resources and concentrate on policy.
The private sector can do the job, government intervention causes chaos.
What is needed is action, not more PF words.
Export maize (subject to lifting of government ban on exports), create a shortage in Zambia thereby increasing the price of mealie meal resulting in more suffering for the common man. Mzungu alupusa
@Kawambwa Tea
LOL!! you have made my day
All the nonsense aside, it is a no-brainer that exchange fluctuations are a see-saw that benefits either the consumer or the producer at any given time. If any is absent or weak you get what we are witnessing. It appears mostly our imports are meant for consumption and not production and so we do not have enough producers to balance out the act by taking advantage of Zambia being a cheaper market place for international buyers of our goods…
Govt by trail and error.
Uyu Muzungu niwopusa zoana.
….That is a policy statement…it has to be backed by SI.
At Kasumbalesa border, there is so much trade in maize grains and maize meal…but guess what, Congolese come over the Zambian side to purchase the commodity in Zambian Kwacha…..if you ask them how come they have so much ZambiaN Kwacha, they say they buy it from the other side(congo). So they leave the dollar in Congo and come in Zambia with ZKW eeesh…
Who said white man cannot be an I.di.ot? Scott is a walking Stu.pi.d. He wants Zambians to die for the sake of kwacha gaining? Why cannot he and his boss resign and see how Kwacha will be the best performing currency of the world?
Well said.
If these useless STUPlD F00LS resigned, the Kwacha would start appreciating WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT!
Typical PF tactics trying to blame somebody else when they are the real cause of the problem!
News item- Simataa by Mathani. How on this earth Mathani is suing everybody, he is entangled with everybody-cobbles, bankers, politicians, foreigners, Zambians, Churches, NGOs. He cries foul when he is sued for money laundering, taking others assets but becomes a Saintly Figure when useless President is bribed and provides him protection. Mathani your days are numbered and take my word next government of HH will not only make you account for all the stealing, bribing and atrocities you committed on your ex-employees and partners, you will be sent to prison and you with your prostrate cancer (you will be on TV looking for sympathy) and Heart problem (you will try to politicise it but you know it is your own creation) and STD (You got it with your own deeds) will be on fast track to Hel.l
No increase in export of maize will ever stabilize kwacha. But, if you dissolve Parliament now and call general election now, kwacha will stabilize on its own.
the idea could work only if it was to be supervised by civilised party like upnd which knows business of course maize can earn this country foreign currency like usdollar but not with these stupid *****s pf who failed to support agriculture these devels cant do it they will steal from farmers why allow zimbabweans to buy maize in kwacha.
There is one big, very big issue.
Confidence.
And ruling party has done their best to destroy it on every expectation.
It is unfortunate that they are refusing to accept that there is extremely urgent need to drastic change of direction.
Shame, all that good will has been destroyed in pursuit of hidden agenda and failed demagogic ideals.
Wrong
This PF yap yap and flip-flop way of dealing with serious national issues is not helping us move forward as a country. We need to be consistent and decisive when handling serious sectors like agriculture. Before assuming office PF promised to give 15 bags of fertilizer to small-scale farmers who take up the biggest share of maize production and straighten up the marketing quagmire. Unfortunately apart from this just being a lie PF didn’t have a plan as to how they would wean off the farmers and ensure they can stand on their own without FISP but still maintain their place in maize production. Instead what we see is the wamuyayaya (endless) FISP for selfish self-preservation political reasons. The market has remained chaotic. Scott is right here except….
….he can’t be trusted to stand by this position much longer. Like I have said before FRA needs to be restructured in a way that while government gives it money to buy maize for reserve it also needs to find its own resources to buy the surplus maize for export. Other private entities can be allowed to export but a better mechanism needs to be devised so they do not create deficit on the local market and send the mealie-meal prices sky rocketing. But the question is are PF good enough to develop such a mechanism?
So called agricultural experts should also do their bit. Stop demonising maize production and parroting crops for which you don’t provide enough info, knowledge & skills. Neither do you create workable value chains. One thing you should understand is easy of doing something…
… and be assured of a return, things being equal, than venturing into something new and risk reaping nothing often drive decisions peasant farmers make.
In essence this Guy is saying we have to go back to the land to save the Kwacha, the Kaunda vibe. How can this Guy take us backwards and, to use Fred & the Post language, we let this Guy go Scott free.
You know Guy Scott is a dubious character ever since the yellow maize saga which he spearheaded during Kafupi’s rule I knew this was not a trustworthy buga. People this man just wants his fellow muzungu commercial farmers to be allowed to export maize so they can become even more rich, mark my words if that happened (export of maize) we will experiance a serious shortfall and famine in the rural areas then we’ll be forced to import maize maybe even yellow maize which would be ironic. I personally do not trust this man who speaks one way to black people and another to his fellow bugas, that behaviour to me is simply racist!
your styoped government thought nibu guy sana ukucita ban ama exports. tamwakwata amano ba pufu(pf). you thought Zambia will get forex from where when you ban almost all exports except copper? look ‘out-of-touch’ farmers have no capacity to export. in the end it is not farmers who will export. it is briefcase business men. I don’t even know why you call your own business men derogatory names such as unscrupulous. they help you to mop up maize which would otherwise rot since you don’t plan for the last mile reach for maize. you wait at your depots for farmers to walk long distances with maize on their bicycles or heads!