President Edgar Lungu has launched the distribution of relief food in Southern Province with a call on recipients not to resale the food supply.
And the President has committed government to improving agricultural productivity in some parts of the country despite the poor climatic conditions.
President Lungu says government wants to see an improved production of maize crop in Southern Province by encouraging innovative farming methods.
Speaking during the field day in Chief Siachitema’s area in Kalomo yesterday, President Lungu said government wants farmers to emulate innovative farming methods from farmers who have excelled in that areas.
The President said farmers countrywide should emulate good farming practices from Mr Raymond Mufwambi who has managed to get good yield despite poor rainfall in Southern Province.
And the President has launched the distribution of relief food in Southern Province, to help people who have been hit by hunger, adding that no one will die of hunger.
He said government has enough stock of maize in its reserve to give relief food to its citizens who have been affected by crop failure.
And Pannar Seed Managing Director Samson Nyendwa said his company will continue to partner with government to ensure farmers are equipped with new farming methods and supplied with quality seeds that can perform well during poor rainfall.
He said his company conducted 1,600 field days this year to help farmers get acquitted to new farming methods and agricultural technologies they can use to improve their farming.
At the same event, Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) President Javis Zimba called on the President to intervene in the pricing of maize grain so that they can earn enough from their produces.
Mr Zimba noted that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) last bought maize at a very cheap price which he said disadvantages farmers.
He also appealed to the President to direct FRA to pay farmers on time this coming marketing season so that they can in turn buy inputs.
How are you going to improve farming when the country is flooded with cheap, GMO food imports and you cannot pay your own farmers on time?
What Zambian farmers need are tools, technology and local and international markets for their products coupled with good prices.
God Bless Zambia.
Remember this is lazy Lungu he believes in loans …even hear he wont stop till they eat everything!!
Lungu is a clueless thug eating with both hands, and farting day and night in state house.
Zambia is better of with this sickly thug locked in maximum prison for life.
He is paid in billions and what he does is waste of time and money on petty gallivanting.
This needed a whole president????
he wont stop until he depletes all of FRA’s reserve stock!!
NO shame with these morons…very soon they will be relief maize at the town centre!!
It’s is the duty of the dept of social welfare to provide social support to the elderly in our country, there is no need to flag off such social support , there govt institutions mandated to do that throughout the year and budget rightly allocated for such activities.
Then what the Slimy worm by the name ECL will do? He is basically a scavanger, fit to do nothing, just eating drinking and farting.
@ Ichalo Lifupa you’re dead right on stimulus the farmers need and I might say government facilitation of all that is required to reduce production costs. On tools for example mechanization is the way to move production upwards but how many middle level farmers can afford carrying a briefcase of cash to buy tilling equipment 100% off the counter let alone collateral when all they have are rural homesteads? Government Agriculture policy must largely skew favor for the peasant to smallholder categories!