The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has led a chorus of disapproval from stakeholders in the agricultural sector unhappy at government’s decision to reserve the recently-imposed ban on the importation of vegetable and fruit products.
ZNFU boss Jervis Zimba said government was losing US$42 million annually on importation of vegetables while adhering to the COMESA protocols that other member states seemed to be ignoring.
He argued that the move would discourage farmers and frustrate the crop diversification which could have been triggered had the government stuck with the ban.
“Why should the country import tomatoes, onions, watermelon, butternut and pineapples which are already in abundance and farmers are struggling to sell them? As a country, it is high time we started feeding ourselves,” he said.
Mr Zimba wondered why Zambia was so tied up with the COMESA trade protocols when other member countries were not following the guidelines on the regional agreement, and gave an example of Zimbabwe which had banned the importation of agricultural products.
The Government announced on Monday that it had reversed the ban on the importation of vegetables and fruit and cited Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) trade protocols.
But Mr Zimba said that if Zambia did not retaliate against the protectionist actions of other countries, the country would become a dumping place for agricultural products.
He said apart from very few fruit types, like apples, grapes and pears, the Zambian climate was conducive to the production of a whole range of others and vegetable that were now being allowed back into the country.
His comments were supported by the Buy Zed Campaign which described Government’s climb-down on administrative ban on the importation of vegetables and fruit products as unacceptable to the farmers.
Separately, Buy Zed Campaign managing consultant Evans Ngoma said the reversal would work against government’s decision to improve farming in Zambia.
In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Ngoma said the Ministry of Commerce was making it difficult for farmers to diversify into other crops.
“We are very disappointed with the Government’s decision to reverse the ban on the importation of vegetables and fruits…this is unacceptable,” he said.
Mr Ngoma said farmers had made significant progress to improve their capacity and form groups to meet the local demand.
He said the high cost of inputs, chemicals and fuel does was making it difficult for small scale farmers to compete favourably with the bigger players.
Other observers have said the move will discourage farmers from increasing production of winter crops in the country.
Fresh produce farmers and dealers have said the move will significantly reduce morale in the farmers who were hoping for a boost after the earlier announcement.
Kelvin Bulaya, a tomato farmer, said Government needed to be firm and consistent in its policies for the agricultural sector begin to contribute more to the economic growth of the country.
“Regional protocols should not force us to stop providing guidelines on certain things because other jurisdictions are doing it…they are imposing restrictions on certain products,” he said.
Mr Bulaya said the development would have led to increased production fresh produce as access to market had been one of the major hindrance to the growth of the agriculture sector
Boyd Mweemba, a Chingola-based vegetable and fruit supplier, also observes the development would have encourage winter cropping in the country.
“This would have encouraged more framers to engage in the growing of winter crops which would contribute significantly to the economic development.
This week, the Government reversed the ban on the importation of vegetable and fruit products.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Kayula Siame said her ministry had engaged stakeholders to find means of increasing production capacity of local farm producers to enable them feed the local and foreign demand of fresh produce.
“We have since put in place a number of measures to try and support the fruit and vegetable value chain because as you know the Government has prioritised agriculture so it’s necessary that we support the producers to help them adequately supply the market,” Ms Kayula said.
The PS said Zambia was signatory to binding trade protocols in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and that a ban would have been accompanied by a Statutory Instrument (SI).
She said, at a joint Press briefing with her Agriculture counterpart Julius Shawa that the Government was keen to expand the agriculture sector by providing linkages for them to feed the market that had resulted from the expansion of chain stores in various parts of the country.
Ms Kayula said the Government was in consultation with various stakeholders from the informal and informal sectors, and representatives from chain stores to find ways in which local farmers could increase participation in supplying farm produce.
She said the Government was concerned that products that should be supplied to the market should be of high quality standards that met the demands of the market.
Mr Shawa said the Government was promoting local farmers in a bid to help foster crop diversification, which was also important to the economic diversification of the country’s economy.
The Government was implementing measures to enable small and medium scale farmers take advantage of the prevailing market to improve production and consistency in terms of supply to the local and foreign market.
Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya would next week hold a meeting with her Finance and Commerce counterparts, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and various stakeholders in the agriculture sector to discuss matters of trade of farm produce.
Why do we as Zambia change policies every day. There must be a problem somewhere .
Zimba should shut his pie hole.
Give the government a chance.
People like frustrate the good intent the government are trying to do for the sake of the nation.
Thanks
Bb2014,16
inconsistency in policy…having journalist in leading the minitry of agrikacha
Zambian Govt will U-turn on almost every decision except Mmembe’s arrest this one they will never back down.
This was not a wise move by the govt. Right now a box of tomatoes has dropped to K40! Allowing Tomato farmers an opportunity to sell to grocery outlets would’ve empowered them. However the onus is still on individuals to buy Zambian vegetable produce in grocery malls where they see it labelled as such.
ECL is a flip flop guy.
So at the time the Government was implementing the ban, they didn’t know about the COMESA protocol? Should we say they do things without abruptly or they have no form of plan and legislation?
That’s very unserious behavior by our government. I am trying to be very polite.
Imagine you are a commerical farmer who rushed to the bank to get a loan because of projected increased business you would “screwed”…when will tell you this govt is full to the rafters with empty tins this is exactly what we mean. These are people who have never run a business they are simply corrupt crooks…i clearly stated here that instead of banning anything increase import duty.
WERE THE SIGNATORIES TO THE COMESA RULES BLIND OR ST. UPND. WHY BIND OURSELVES TO SUCH CONDITIONS.
ALSO IF ZIMBABWE CAN DO IT WHY CAN’T WE DID IT.
Know the world!!! Such policies do not exist in a vacuum. Costs to Zambia that would have arisen due to such a policy would have made the gains to vegetable farmers look like a needle in a haystack. Consumers and government would have ended up paying more… literally subsidizing Zambian farmers. Taxes could rise! Zambian farmers should learn the business. It is not just a case of singing that you have a lot of vegetables. Get into the trade; beat the competition in all parameters. Low cost, high quality, attractive packaging, consistence in delivery dates and volumes… etc. The supermarkets will not hesitate to do business with you. Using political sovereign authority to create barriers to trade is not sustainable. South Africa has areas in which if it took retaliatory action, Zambia…
Know the world!!! Such policies do not exist in a vacuum. South Africa has areas in which it has competitive advantage over Zambia. Many, many areas. If South Africa took retaliatory action against Zambia, for banning imports of vegetables from that country, Zambia could find itself in trouble, even politically destabilized. The World Trade Organization also sanctions against such anti-trade behaviours among nations. If Zambian farmers are going to produce competitive vegetable products, Zambian consumers will switch their preferences, leading to less demand for imported vegetables. Making it easier for them to enter the supermarkets they want to get into. South African business will analyze this and probably deem that there is no business for them in Zambia. This is less a political…
Dununa reverse aaah eeeh. The great Zambian experiment with Zambians as the lab rats
Spineless Dora.
Wrong move … they should have kept the ban in place. Also, RSA has been dumping in GRZ for some time now. Anti-dumping Laws have to protect the local industry especially when you have a net negative import scenario. Is RSA ready to import GRZ tomatoes, pineapples, chilemba, etc?
If not reverse the ban and have it in place until RSA opens its market to GRZ otherwise GRZ is at the receiving end of the equation and kills it’s own production capacity. Reverse, I repeat … reverse the order and protect the local market.
No need to skew the balance of payment in a negative way for your local market … Dora, do the right thing by your local farmers. Don’t succumb to pressure … thanks a trillion
Some PF ministers also look like vegetables, and mbweee, fyakuposa fye.
So at the time the Government was implementing the ban, they didn’t know about the COMESA protocol? Should we say they do things without abruptly or they have no form of plan and legislation?
That’s very unserious behavior by our government. I am trying to be very polite.
Party of Flip-floppers! Incompetence is their second nature. They react on kneejerk basis and read the rules and the law later. There’s no cure for stoopidity!
A sign of weak leadership I must say! You cannot be flip flopping every decision made day in day out. Are we using guess work to manage pertinent Governance issues? Let’s be more serious folks.
You mean our Minister was not aware of Comesa rules?
She was aware about journalism ethics!
Some Zambia vegetables especially those from urban areas are grown using sewer water which might have fecal matter.Eeeew ,i wouldn’t want to consume or stock them in my store either.
Do you have an idea how the imported ones are grown? The devil you…
The FTA like COMESA is supposed to benefit Zambia also. Are there no products that Zambian farmers are growing more competitively than others in COMESA? Instead of pushing the Zambian govt to abrogate the protocol like others are doing, we instead should be pushing for Zambia to ensure compliance by all members instead. COMESA is headquartered in Zambia by the way, so Zambia is ease not likely to ignore the protocol as easily as other members will.
This is what it means when Lungu says he has no Vision. The illegitimate Lungu govt is dysfunctional and one Ministry does not know what the other Ministry is doing. Its Chipante pante all the way. This is a clear example of Leadership failure on the part of Chakolwa Lungu. U cannot manage the Economy thru dancing Dununa Reverse.With this visionless and clueless Lungu at the helm Zambia is doomed. Let the Petition be heard in Court without further delay.
When government banned the importation of vegies and fruits were they not aware of comesa trade protocols? In future these government leaders should consult each other before making such big decisions.
chagwa was not aware.he has no vision for our Country Zambia.The vision he has is drinking Jameson and stealing our money through unnecessary travels…
Flip flop, everything seems to be in reverse gear, what a mess. The rot starts at the head. All these ministers are doing is following in the foot steps of the visionless leadership where everything works in reverse. Its ironic to think that these misfits, dunderheads, nincompoops will ever devise something that will defend and promote local initiatives. You can only allow to import those fruits that we are not able to produce like apricots, grapes etc but fruits like tomatoes, onions, cabbages, etc which are in abundance should be banned forthwith. What is wrong with this pafiko party kanshi.
Although I am for the idea of promoting of local products, I nevertheless believe that local farmers shouldn’t be protected at the expense of the Zambian consumer. Our farmers should be subjected to competition by allowing foreign imports to compete against their products. This way, they will jack up standards. I personally prefer local products like Zamanita cooking oil which is of as very high standard, but other local products are clearly substandard. Why protect local producers who might just dump low quality products on helpless and hapless consumers? Consumers have rights too and must have a voice on such important matters.
Vision! What vision??
That is what you get when you just wake up and send a PF kaponya to go and sign trade protocols.
These kaponyas sign anything thrown confront of them with hangovers from heavy drinking the previous night.
All other countries see Zambia as a big shopping market for their goods.
On top of all this confusion of letting even clerks issue directives you have clueless lungu who is now acting like a paranoid schizophrenic seeing HH everywhere.
Zambian Farmers can not supply all shoprite shops with tomatoes through out the year neither can they supply cabbage and all other vegetables. Zambian Farmers may supply mushroom in the a season and that mushroom will be of very poor quality. The Farmers are biting more than they can chew to say the least.
What about the tomaties and cabages that go to waste at most markets?
Thats why HH says PF is a Chipante-pante Mungulu Govt:-
– One day they ban importation of cooking oil, the next they reverse
– One day they support Morocco, the next they change & support Western Sahara. Then again switch back to supporting Morocco.
– One day they ban importation of fruits & veggies, the next they reverse
– One day they say IMF is NOT coming back coz we have enough reserves, the next day we see an IMF delegation
– One day they say we’ll reduce price of fuel to below K5, the next day fuel is increased
– One day they say we’ll create 500,000 jobs, the next day we see retrenchments.
GOOD LUCK in the next 5-years of suffering
James 1:6-8
“For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he…
CONT’D
James 1:6-8
“For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”.
So why are quoting your whiteman’s novel here?
One day they are watching football with Moses Katumbi, the next day they’re saying sorry to Kabila.
– One day they ban exporting of Maize, the next day they lift the ban in order to swindle Malawian Govt
– One day they say Govt has no money for UNZA bursaries, the next day they say they have K2Million for consultation for withdrawing from ICC
– One day they are at Tomb of Jesus, speaking in tongues, the next day they’re at Stadium insulting CAF officials & assaulting a police-woman.
What a shame!
What a government we have!!
Iwe chi JAY JAY stop insulting other people’s beliefs. No one condemns you for being a practicing satanist.
@Jay Jay, I personally prefer the “whiteman’s novel” to Bemba foolish sayings that justify stealing and corruption. African foolishness is worse than the worst in the Bible! I would rather follow the Buddha than Chimbwili and his thieving ways. Sharing a nation with some of these ethnic groups is a curse.
Firstly, my confusion starts with a question; How was the decision to effect the ban arrived at by Messrs Mubalama? I believe before effecting any action that has an effect on trade protocols, firstly it would be an item in the Cabinet Meeting. Ms Mubalama would have stated her case why there should be a ban and Mama Dance Maggie would have countered, each giving reasons as to why/why not. Little Harry would also have chipped in from the context of International relations. So if this was the scenario where was Ba Lungu to allow this confusion? Or could it be that these are matters beyond him? These flip-flops have serious consequences beyond just agriculture. Its the whole investment climate which is negatively affected by very high political risk. So what happens to the Isreali company…
continued… So what happens to the $90 million allegedly brought in by the Isreali company to invest mu tomato production? Zambia! Zambia! What a mediocre country!
Why should we observe trade protocols that other countries are not observing? The tomatoes or onions from South Africa are not cheaper compared to our products.
Can I supply Tute (Cassava) to South Africa?
Zambia first ,Government of Zambia should know that our farmers are facing difficulties in selling there products
Can you supply vegetables to South Africa .Some of these Trade protocols are made to support there industries we are are in trouble.
To any agreement there are strings attached; if you are a member of any club rules are there to obey.
If Zambia is part of comesa It should also do what comesa says.
It is until you choose to go it alone.
When you isolate yourself from common market you kill yourself.
Zambia need to to what the agreement says.
Does it mean that these trade Protocols mean Zambia will be accepting un products in the region without supporting there local environment ? What about applying quota’s (limiting the amount of imports) in our country in phrases and see where we reach, can it not be sustainable ? What really do we want to achieve collectively ?
where are supply chain specialists in our country to guide policy makers ?
We are right here.!!
Ready to advise the policy makers.
But the problem is that the POLICYMAKERS are not here! They are too busy traveling around the world to actually make policy!
And now they have a good excuse to spend the next six months visiting every COMESA country we can forget about helping Zambian farmers.
What Supply Chain specialists..this govt only in disorganisation!
A market economy means our farmers need to compete with those in South Africa. Government create a conducive environment that enables farmers to produce quality fruits and veg in a consistent manner that can supply the supermarkets consistently. Surely there’s nothing so special about South Africans that they can grow fruit and veg better than a Zambian farmer. Banning imports outright probably isn’t the answer but some restrictions or removing some privileges from the South African supermarket agreements may be in order so that farmers here can improve. Farmers here do need to buy equipment like greenhouses, irrigation, pumps, build small earth dams which take capital and the cost of borrowing money just isn’t affordable to make such investments. Get interest rates down, reduce burden…
FISP is costing ZMW2,900,000,000 per year but is very inefficient and has a low return on investment. Use some of this money to support the poorest households by expanding social cash transfers and use the remaining to provide loans at affordable rates to farmers (get a commercial bank to manage these loans because it needs to run properly) and the farmers will invest in small earth dams, pumps, irrigation, storage facilities, packaging equipment so they can compete with South African suppliers. Look at the agreements Zambia has with South African Supermarkets and ensure that these agreements encourage the supermarkets to support local suppliers rather than offering favourable terms that just encourage imports from South Africa.
Export ban on maize is preventing farmers getting a better price for maize that is in high demand in the region. Farmers need to get rewarded for their efforts. FRA should buy maize at market prices that rewards farmers for a job well done. Improve storage facilities and release maize into the market in lean years or to local merchants in parts of the country where there are shortages. FRA shouldn’t become an exporter but leave that to private sector. FRA role is to provide good storage facilities and hold enough in reserve to smooth our peaks and troughs of supply on the local market. Don’t keep maize at an artificially low price but let farmers be rewarded for growing a crop that is in demand. For the poorest households ensure they get a monthly cash transfer so they can buy maize at…
In any private company where such flip flop goes on, the CEO would be fired together with his incompetent team! There are cabinet meetings i should think were such should be debated on before any pronouncements are made. But like somebody already stated, its like individual ministries dont know what the other is doing, total confusion!
Mr President, show us you leadership skills if any, by managing your cabinet and this nation. Right now its like we on auto-pilot trying and seeing what happens later.
On autopilot?
Then the autopilot is seriously BROKEN!
These are the consequences of foolishly and tribally voting for PF.
Instead of looking at real economical issues, the voters (especially Bembas) were looking at the tribal tag.
And so, you shall suffer!
Government’s decision to suspend the vegetable import ban is correct. Disrupting import supplies is not the answer to poor local produce. The local produce would get even worse after disruption. The local producers will become complacent and start blackmailing consumers to depend on poor quality haphazard supplies. Competition is the answer. Let local produce compete with imported produce. Do you think consumers like imports because of vanity? The consumer chooses quality, regardless of the source. Meanwhile, the export drive must be intensified. Export more maize! Export more coffee! Export more sugar! Export more!!! Thank you Mr President for using the word great word “export”.
Its time to stand up for Zambia. Organise a protest march to the agriculture ministry. Show the government just wrong their decision is. Talking only will achieve nothing. This government only listens to action. Look at what the St Mary’s parents achieved because they did something. As ZNFU, organise yourselves and go protest.
The PF are well known for policy inconsistencies. Ask the mine industry in Zambia, they will tell you about their bitter experience. Its all in Dununa Reverse
Znfu show leaderships, very soon will be hearing agriculture and commercial shows, for what, we can not continue creating employment for SA, simple cabbage, tomatoes and onions of all things we have to import. We are jokers. After 50 years on independence may be we should bring back welensky.
Katema
Dont just read tomatoes onions etc ,you need to have QUALITY and CONSISTENCY of supply.
We can export to SA but our products need phytosanitary certificates,, this says products are are free from dirt and disease. Comply and export. Produce quality produce with consistency of supply and the supermarketz will buy.
We are tbe solution to our own problems
you introduced windfall tax and tax on imported copper concentrate in the mining sector. two weeks down the line, these moves were reversed. now its a ban on imported vegies that has been lifted. this shows that your leaders don’t know what they are doing.
look at south africa, they have banned the importation of used vehicles in that country because they want to protect their local manufactures, so why can’t you protect your local farmers?
chipantepante…