The National Technical Committee (NTC) on food security pack has urged government to revise the Food Support Programme (FSP) to make it more viable in responding to the needs of the vulnerable farmers in the country.
Committee Secretary Paul Kapotwe says the revision of the FSP would also help the country to unlock growth in the agriculture sector as many vulnerable farmers will benefit from programme.
Mr. Kapotwe was speaking in Katete, Eastern province where he is leading a delegation from the church and key heads of government departments to monitor activities under the FSP programme during the 2007-2008, and the 2008-2009 farming season.
He said the current FSP policy is weak and that many farmers were not benefiting from the programme.
Mr. Kapotwe, who is also Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM) Executive Director, further urged government to revise the food security pack programme (FSPP) to make it effective enough to reach all parts of the country.
He said although the current FSPP was capable of responding to the various needs of vulnerable people in society, it is not effective enough to reach out to the less privileged.
Meanwhile, Mr.Kapotwe has called on farmers in the country to embark on crop diversification to enhance food security.
He said there is need for framers to engage in crop densification in order to enable Zambia respond effectively to various challenges associated with the global economic crunch.
He said as the global economic meltdown continues to hit economies in the world, farmers should seriously embark on crop diversification which he said would go a long way in helping the country become a food basket in the region.
Mr. Kapotwe said Zambian farmers should take advantage of the land and water that the country has in abundance, to grow more food to feed the people and also export to other countries in the region.
The target groups under the food security pack programme are the aged, orphans and vulnerable people.
The National Technical Committee on food security pack is comprised of stakeholders from Caritas Zambia under the Zambia Episcopal Conference, Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS), Ministry of community Development and Social Services and the Programme Against Malnutrition.
ZANIS/TK/ENDS/MM.
Whenever farmers are mentioned then the word diversification is always around. Please also deal with that case of fertilizer. officials are busy stealing and farmers end up with nothing.
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