Government has urged the people of Luapula Province to diversify from fish to agricultural farming because fish had depleted in the region.
Fishermen in Luapula Province have, for a long time, been practicing illegal fishing methods that included the use of mosquito nets to catch fish and fishing during the fish ban between the months of December and March every year.
Luapula Province Permanent Secretary (PS), Jazzman Chikwakwa, said in Chiengi yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on District Commissioner (DC), Mwaba Lwaminda, that there was need to diversify for the province to develop.
Mr Chikwakwa said venturing into agriculture would help develop Chiengi district because Program for Luapula Agriculture Rural Development (PLARD) was undertaking improved cassava farming for farmers to be self sustained.
He said if agriculture was put as number one priority, people would do better economically.
The PS noted that farming of cassava and other crops that did not require fertilizer would assist farmers and government to deviate money meant for the national Fertilizer Support Program (FSP) to other programs.
He observed that cassava had market both locally and internationally and that farmers should take advantage of drought resistant crops as they were easy to cultivate.
Mr Chikwakwa further said that government was aware that it required opening training schools for fish farmers in order for them to learn proper fishing methods.
He noted that the only way to preserve the remaining fish was to educate people on the importance of avoiding illegal fishing methods.
He also said those who have settled in the fish breeding areas should be removed so that fish stocks could improve and avoid complete depletion.
Speaking earlier, Chiengi DC, Mwaba Lwaminda, said that the fisheries department was implementing co–management program where PLARD has given 120 farmers half a lima each of improved cassava cuttings.
Mr Lwaminda said Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM) had targeted 108 famers in two camps for them to diversify from fish farming.
He explained that Chiengi district’s major economic activities were fishing, agriculture and trading.
ZANIS/ENDS/CB/EB.
I thought we should diversify from copper to agriculture!!!
I have a feeling the word “diversification” is being wrongly placed here!! You can not promote one industry and neglect the other completely!! What if the people then totally depend on agriculture and we are visited by a long draught? Are we then going to diversify to something else. The government should start doing some risk-management to avoid confusion. We should stop the trial and error principle and start making policies that effective.
Jamco, cassava is drought resistant and luapula fish has a protein that makes the residents blind.so the PS is right on this matter.
Shani Jamaco! Please avoid replying to you own post, you’re abusing this wonderful facility created by LT. Otherwise you’re spot on with your comment, bro. But at thze same time I think the lecture at hand is specifically addressed to Luapula prov!
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Iwe Chi Osama,
what the heck are you thinking..lol! naulya ichimbala?
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Owe iyee kumwesu….still more we will continue fishing but by diversification probably these guys mean have a garden and plant more than just cassava. Engines, its not the protein in the fish that causes blindness but the lack of vitamin A which normally comes from vegetables. In Luapula, the only vegetable is Katapa…..so diversfication comes in when other crops are grown, and cattle are kept instead of fish, tute and katapa 365 days a year.
Fish liver oil contains vitamin A but in Zambia we discard the fish liver.If the people were to eat the fish with the liver they wouldn’t have thisw blindness.Also why don’t the farmers fortify e.g maize meal or milk or sugar with Vit A
#5 Hola and Engines above , there is basically no relationship between consumption of fish and blindness. What is the truth is river blindness medically called Onchocerciasis tends to affect the rural population that reside along fast flowing rivers which have black flies as vectors for the filaria worms. In Zambia the regions affected are the upper north ,hence more cases of blindness in those areas, simply put. Fish provides first class protein value very good for children. Govt has a policy that sugar sold on the market should be fortified with vitamin A.
Wiseman-reborn, thank you. In fact there have been several programs on TV in Zambia talking about the connection between the black flies and blindness and not fish. I wish to add two things, first, total dependence on fish for protein contributes to poor health since a fish casava meal lacks vitamins and other proteins. Second, we are under the impression that everyone in Luapula eats fish everyday which is not true. Most people in Luapula are more likely to live on cassava tubers and leaves. What scares me that in 21st century people with access to internet, libraries can still hold positions not informed by science. You would be suprised how many unza students think fish causes blindness!
Introduce fish farming. Stop preaching to the people about diversification. Pour money into technology and research.
Let our leaders provide the means to diversify, otherwise its rhetoric. Give the people a jump start by providing inputs, training and market for produce
Ba PS, thats wrong advice pliz. You should have consulted your provincial principal Fisheries offficer who is better placed in as far as better alternatives are concerned for fishers. They needed to venture into fish farming because they are used to fish business. Let them engage in fish farming and plan it in such a way that they harvest their ponds during the fish ban so that the fish in the lake is allowed to breed. For how are we going to advise you PS’s to consult heads of departments before issuing wrong statements like this one where you are telling a person whoz life is about selling fish to selling crops that are not profitable at all unless a farmer gets imputs on FSP.
# 8 Brilliant thinking on fish farming , when you come to think of it . Great man/woman