UPND President Hakainde says Zambia needs a long-term plan for agriculture.
Mr Hichilema says the UPND has a vision for unlocking Zambia’s agriculture potential.
He says providing proper support to farmers will help them to grow and sell more, and at the same time bring prices down for consumers.
Mr Hichilema in a statement issued by the UPND information department says this can also stimulate the economy and drive growth and development through targeted investments in the agricultural sector.
He says though the PF government criticized the MMD on this score, nothing has changed for the better under their leadership.
Mr Hichilema says under the PF government, payments to farmers have been delayed resulting in farmers being unable to buy inputs in time for the next season.
He has pledged to pay farmers on time, reduce the cost of inputs such as fertilizer, and invest in agriculture for improved productivity and diversification once elected president.
Mr Hichilema states that by investing more in agriculture the economy can be stimulated, jobs created and food prices brought down.
He has also called for the need to invest in more storage facilities and support the growth of milling facilities across the country.
The UPND leader has also called for concerted efforts to stimulate the growth of related industries,notably processing, and support those suppliers who want to take advantage of the geographical location to export produce to neighbours in the region.
He adds that feeder roads for transportation of crops should be regularly attended to so as to reduce the challenges facing farmers.
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OKAY ,THE PROBLEM IS THAT HE IS THE NEXT PRESIDENT
Heil Hitler can issue an edict and impose Marshal Law. Farmers will be paid before harvesting and any non-delivery will be carried over to next farming season.
It seems you have more balls than brains @ kagelo
Zambia needs long term plans not only in agriculture but in all social and economic sectors. There’s no disagreement on this by any political party.
Having agreed to that, your upnd freebies that you are promising people are neither long term nor sustainable. You promising freebies without telling us how and where you will get the resources to finance your 211 freebies.
We know you are not being sincere but just desperate for votes.
Your policies are all over the place as you dont have any idea how govt is run
January 20, 2015…..Vote PF…Vote Edgar C. Lungu
Latest Breaking News. Indian Bank owner, king money launderer is funding HH’s campaign using Italian Mafia King, who stabbed Chiluba’s widow by telling her off that the Chiluba Institute was bought by him and not by Chiluba. Both have joined hands to bribe government officials, got the contracts and now worried that HH will cancel the contracts and put them under microscope. The Italian man’s talk with Willie Nsanda in his car is recorded where they were talking about exchange of a huge road contract for gratification to the Chairman of RDA.
@King, truth hurts but those are realities on the ground. As for me having more balls than brain you may be right. May be tonga women love men with balls than brains as I have many tonga girlfriends, dumb, dumber and dumbest!
Heil Hitler is a curse and will remain a curse to tongas. Earlier he is removed from UPND better for the party.
Agriculture don’t need long term. And HH should not put cows up front of agenda.
– Rape
– Okra
– Tomatoes
– groundnuts
– sweet potatoes
all are short term and don’t need fertilizer. Do a pumper harvest of those are flood hospitals, prisons, boarding schools with food.
Smash left-overs into tomatoes paste for export. Simple business
@Nostradamus that is exactly what HH is saying except in your words you use ‘smash’ as in ‘processing’ (which HH has said). However, I am sure Malawi is a good example of how leaders can fail agriculture (look at the sector from the Kamuzu days to date) they are now an importer! Where as we (Zambia) are an exporter. I agree what we need to move onto is processing on a big scale starting with small-scale and incorporating them into some kind of co-operative (though they also are a complex route to success or failure)! On the whole we need to do something differently!
HH shall be careful and question Dipak to make sure the rumour going around that Indian Banker involved in Money Laundering in Zambia and Malawi is not funding his campaign. He is using his Italian partner to front the campaign contribution. Forewarned.
Driving between Lusaka and Kabwe, you get a glimpse of our potential in the miles and miles of neat, organised, well equipped, crop growing that is a certain company. You can be forgiven for thinking you are on a totally different continent. Then you look across the road and see our ramshackle existence and the contrast is almost painful. We have huge potential and those farmers of ours should be amongst the wealthy of our continent because we can feed our nation and others. We need someone who can turn ramshackle in to agricultural wealth for those willing to work at feeding the world… why do we wallow in poverty and wasted potential?
All that is needed to get started is a serious, decisive, determined and focused leadership and the ramshackles will gradually turn into what you see along the Lusaka Kabwe road. Lets get PF out of the way and together we can march in giant steps towards real tangible development.
Yes indeed Bob. Our true potential lies untested.
Everyone is agreed on what needs to be done, the question is, who is the best person to do it? Mr HH, a great Economic Manager (as his supporters claim) – who owns one of the largest if not the largest privately owned cattle herd in the country, but does NOT process or add value to his cattle, or a government that is actually trying to do it? Milling plants are planned, Kawambwa Tea is being looked at for relaunching, Mulungushi Textiles has been concessioned to process cotton. Who has the track record?
@Manlove – I do see what you’re saying but just look at the names you are mentioning. Looks like UNIP has the track record so let’s add SERIOES, ZAMEFA and more to the equation. We have evolved in to nothing but a market for South African goods and that has been aided by both MMD and PF. We are making them a fortune!
In a way we have to just scrap all sorts of things and start over – in which case I would say the guy who has started a business from scratch and made a success of it is actually more useful than UNIP 2.0 – tenzebantu-let’s-go-back-there approach. What is entrepreneurial or business savvy about PF? They’ve even gone back a step and brought RB in to the fold. Give me a break. This is not about Zambia any more. It is about selfish greed and hunger for power.
A Phiri, I salute you sir for your measured and mature response. I am a child of the UNIP era and I believe that the UNIP strategy for agriculture was sound; the educated elite who run these industries failed the country – my opinion! Coming to the question you raise, my understanding is that Mr HH did not start from nothing, rather, he started from the acquision of the privatised state farms but he has not developed the value chain beyond production – he is therefore not an entrepreneur in the strictest sense of the word. I am not aware of an industry in which he did a start up and has prospered. My idea of an entrepreneur is someone like Mr Zulu of Meanwood – he started from nothing (not even his own piece of land) and has grown his companies substantially over a decade!
Ah thanks Manlove. I totally agree that despite the eventual failings you have outlined, the UNIP era had a clearer handle on our potential than the current situation where we are practically a state of South Africa and we even feature in their budgeting!
When I think of entrepreneurs in the Zambian context, we are so behind with our development that in a way it is like the days of old in other societies where every citizen has a role to play in building the nation up. The vision of the leadership has not been consistent. We can have a shared vision of Zambia and have many ways to achieve it.
I think we need a powerful negotiator who can crunch figures but one that will do it for the average person. I respect your honest reservations and know we are both looking for the right one.
@Manlove ” Coming to the question you raise, my understanding is that Mr HH did not start from nothing, rather, he started from the acquision of the privatised state farms but he has not developed the value chain beyond production – he is therefore not an entrepreneur in the strictest sense of the word.”
To be an entrepreneur in your opinion you have to slave first?
HH supplies meat to Zambeef and has shares in the company. Most Zambians are bothered by unnecessary things wasting your time on non starters. Forget about those privatisation rumours, those are non starters. To date, there has been no investigations. Do you know more dirt on HH than the entire PF machinery?
@Bob
You’ve hot the nail on the head.
Let’s get Pf out of government.
True Manlove, true. Heil Hitler is all mouth, no trousers. He has no balls. All his life he has made money by cutting deals. Mazoka, a tribalist put Heil Hitler and Muna Hantuba as directors in all companies under Anglo American. Mazoka was a true Tonga Tribalist, he managed to hoodwink Zambians that he was a successful manager, while he had failed miserably at Zambia Railways (stolen cattle- for those who do not know, Tongas have weakness for cattle to the extent that to get cattle they send their wives to neighbours to sleep and demand cattle as compensation). Mazoka put all tongas in Anglo American group companies and those are the companies UPND bio-data writer was enumerating as his achievements. Heil Hitler has made money by cutting deals at the cost of Zambian interests.
Heil Hitler has gone bonkus. Desperation to get into statehouse is so intense that he is promising and telling lies day and night.
Ef U – shut yo arse !
You are obviously desperate to hung on to statehouse but you and your team have no capacity to stay on. #KickOutPFfromStatehouse
THAT is the only starting-point political message EVERY leader in Afrika should have – get FOOD on the table and the people have peace-of-mind to engage in self-fulfilment and improvement….hunger and disease are the omnipresence of poverty. Yes HH, agriculture and environmental protection first !
All presidents starting with KK had the same vision. The problem is with us. We are thieves. All the plans have been ok but man Is greedy .
Unless this man says he will be omnipresent like God
is it long term agricultural plans or ist plans for long term long hands on to privatisation funds.
Most UNIP and old MMD big heads even the small ones retired to former state farms, houses.
People are following EL movements, please. From NP, to MP and now in EP. They don’t even know where HH is right now
@St Mary Magadalena
You have eyes and ears but you choose not to either see or hear. HH is non comparable to EL. HH has already travelled around ZED twice
and God willing he is likely to do the final round soon.The fella is simply too fit to cope with such a tiresome task.I surely think it would be rather risky to subject EL to speedy campagns don’t you think? Thats why you and your likes(tortoise thinking) always know where your slow thinking(NO VISION FELLOW) is. For most ZEDIANZ, we know HH is somewhere safe and SWIFTLY coming this WAY.
@religious blasphemer
It soooooo offends me that you call yourself by the name of a saint.
You know that this is a rough crowd and we’ll be talking a lot of shite.
You, in fact are guilty of slinging a humongous amount of hateful crap – in a saint’s name!
You need to preach love and redemption as is fitting of Mary Magdalene. Sha!!
ZNBC is trying to black out HH.But alas the man is moving fast than a hurricane .He was is Senanga and Sesheke ,frorm Kazungula is coming to the capital of southern province (Livingstone)Then Etezi etezi ,Chlundu ,Namwala and zero in Lusaka.While Muareen Mwanawasa,GBM,Mutati,mucheleka,and Nalumango are in the copperbelt from Northern and Masebo is Lusaka province.Shikapwasha<Chituwo and Shakafuswa are in Central.All MPs in Southern on the ground in there costituences and foot sodiers are avery were in Zambia.This is what we call cow horn formation of Shaka the Zulu.VIVA HARD WOKER HH and the TEAM your sweat will surely pay off,on 20th,january,2015.
What black out? :
It seems the opposition have nothing to say because all is been done. Does this “under 5” think that economic developments are short planned? Agricultural plans have always mostly been long term. Opposition are just regurgitating what is already on government agenda!Let them continue their roles as “watch dogs!” VIVA PF! VIVA EDGAR LUNGU