President Edgar Lungu says time has come for Zambia to transform the agriculture sector for the benefit of the people.
President Lungu has noted that Zambia has potential not just to feed its people through the agricultural sector but Africa as a whole.
The Head of State has further stated that there is need to take pragmatic action to realise this potential and the only time that can be done is now.
He was speaking in Mumbwa today when he officiated at the National Harvest Day held at Mabeba farm.
And President Lungu has implored the Ministry of Agriculture and the Zambia National Farmers Union to ensure that farmers grow enough maize by suggesting a target of 5 million metric tonnes of maize production next year.
The Head of State said he is happy that farmers will this year start receiving their inputs as early as September which will give farmers time to undertake their agricultural activities.
He said early delivery of inputs coupled with detailed information on climate smart agriculture will contribute towards adequate agriculture production.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has noted that it is important to use events such as the national harvest day to reflect on what should be done to improve the agriculture sector in the country.
The President indicated that from what has been witnessed at Mababe farm in Mumbwa, it is clear that climate smart agriculture is the solution to good harvests despite the droughts and that farmers need information on best practices to mitigate climate change effects.
President Lungu has further reiterated his directive to ensure that the maize prices are fair enough to cover the cost of maize and allow farmers to make decent profit.
And Minister of Agriculture, Michael Katambo, noted that the early distribution of inputs will enable farmers plant on time and have better yields.
Mr Katambo stated that currently the crop yield is at 1.2 metric tonnes and has encouraged farmers to adopt good agriculture practices to increase the yield.
He added that his ministry has continued to engage the Ministry of Finance to clear outstanding debt owed to Agro dealers across the country and that mechanisms are being put in place to ensure they are paid on time during the 2019/2020 farming season.
Meanwhile, Mumbwa District Farmers Association Chairperson, Austin Sinyachize, noted that the district is highly dependant on agriculture to sustain and improve the livelihoods of the people.
Mr Sinyachize said it is important for farmers to embrace new farming technologies to help government achieve competitive and sustainable agriculture that will contribute to economic growth of the country.
And Wisdom Mababe, the owner of the farm, said the harvest witnessed today has been as a result of understanding the effects of climate change coupled with the effective implementation of mitigation measures.
Mr Mababe noted that he planted maize during the drought that affected the Southern Part of the country including Mumbwa district.
He has since noted that it is important that farmers take interest in knowing and understanding the effects of climate change to enable them harvest enough crop without challenges.
Everyone look at this lazy sausage Edgar he is reading another speech….time has come to transform agriculture sector the workshy bum says …I mean he is in his 5th as a President and he thinks the time has come after all the debts have been misused on overpriced works!!
It’s like Lungu wants to provoke us to insult him.
After destroying agric now Lungu thinks by offering lip service farmers will be happy with him after his agents stole their money for three seasons in a row.
Lungu is just an ***** of a president!
I don’t see how time has come.
I wanna see a how your economy diversification program is going, maybe I will start believing.
Congo wants maize
Zimbabwe wants maize
Kenya wants maize
Malawi wants maize.
Embark on the winter maize project and let’s feed these countries.
There goes again, Mr Clueless Chakolwa Lungu. How longhas he been in power to say this, knowing agriculture is one of Zambia’s main social and economic livelihood?
No one single-handedly has wasted Zambia’s development time as Mr.Lungu. Completely clueless, without value, “president” by lottery and name only. He should have resigned long time ago!
Imagine its 2020 already and he is talking about transforming Zambia and his govt is broke….I wonder what he will saying in 2021 apart from dancing like a foooool he is.
Talk is cheap. Are there any deliberate policies to supports this.
That’s Mr Abrupt Flippant, if only could spare a week if not a month on agriculture would he relies that has been on holiday all along.
Watch “President Lungu eating mangoes by the roadside” on YouTube
And you have been president for how long sir Zambia is really in trouble when the man who single handed holds Zambia’s future talks like the man campaigning to be president sir you have the power to change Zambia next time instead of reading long exiciting speeches that you did not write nor believe in why not just make good policies or better yet why not implement good policies and please stop blaming the opposition , citizens, imf , usa-china war for your failures
These are wasted Lazy Lungu years!!
Zambia has been on Auto Pilot for long time. ECL has no other alternative. HH cannot also be the Messiah.
Bwana Lungu “time has come to transform agri…” really? Knowing agribusiness is the mainstay of majority of Zambians this comes as a shock that Lungu really had no vision since coming to power in 2015.
Commercial farmers don’t sell their maize to FRA, they produce for their stockfeed. Just in Kabwe, Kapiri and Chisamba some peasant farmers who paid K400 haven’t received their inputs to date. Crooks like 1 Acre Fertilizer have taken advantage of this lapse by giving loans to farmers on very harsh terms. What Edgar says and what his Govt does are clearly not coordinated. What kind of person is he? You can’t govern people over steins of jemasoni, it can’t work please sober up
Commercial farmer knows that growing maize is always at a loss!!
“Where there’s no vision the people perish” -Proverbs 28:19 . This means Lungu had no plan and no direction when he came to power.
Why is the Corruption Report devoid of the main culprits and drainers of our economy from grassroot upstairs. Cadres are still living in confort and protection of the same. There is need to hit the nail on the head and not on the branches suiting they that obviously need job security.
say time has come for me to surrender to the people to transform this country into an agricultural hub. me i have failed cant see how . clueless forbia
Zambian politicians are cruless generally.Either a ruling party or opposition parties are full of cruelessness!!!By now this Govnt should have transformed our agriculture sector.But all they do year in,year out is focusing on maize farming.Sometimes i ask myself as what impact on our economy would be there if Govnt initiated a huge project about agriculture in Zambia like what Mr.Sata initiated “Link Zambia 8000 project” in the road sector.If the billions of dollars Govnt is spending on roads,airports,etc were invested in starting Govnt farms across Zambia.oh my God,our economy can grow fast and thousands of Zambian unemployed youths can have jobs.The market for products from these Govnt farms is huge(whole africa or simply DRC Congo)!!This is what a progressive president thinks about…
Njimbu now u v come down to earth aaah
When one listens to Kambwili or HH or whatever,you never hear anything progressive about Agriculture.They simply dont say anything simple and solid as to what they will do if voted.Equally president Edgar Lungu’s speech about agriculture above is too open with no clear goals in short or long term plan.A practical leader would say “in next year’s budget,my Govnt shall come up with a huge budget to start Govnt farms in provinces which receive good rainfall.These Govnt farms will be growing various crops and will set up plants to add value to these crops”.These products will then be sold locally and abroad.Jobs will be created for Zambians from this Govnt business venture which should be run like a profit making company.We cant develop fast as country when we leave profit making…
…we cant develop fast as country when we leave profit making businesses 100% in the hands of private hands(firms).Govnt should also involve itself in profit making businesses than only depend on taxes,loans,grants,etc.Africa has a huge market for agriculture products.Moreover,people need food everyday.Thus a president with a vision for his country,would set aside even a US$1billion,channel it into agriculture sector by setting up big Govnt farms(this can be done even by pumping such money into ZNS).
“..,Thus a president with a vision for his country,would set aside even…”
That is what we have been trying to tell you PF rats for the past 4 years …..that lungu has no vision.
What do you mean a President with a vision? Who have you been supporting all this time…have you just realized Lazy Lungu hasn’t got a vision $10 billion in debt later? Really laughable….
Njiimbu that is proper reasoning and Zambia can develop if all we can start reasoning in the same way.that what I call maturity way of thinking.
Listen people , Mr. Lungu has stated that ….
“..President Lungu has noted that Zambia has potential not just to feed its people through the agricultural sector but Africa as a whole…”
This man and his shallow analysis of things around him will wake one day and realise that this comedy he is being put through is deliberately planned by those around him.I think security agencies should take keen interest in this comic show,because if indeed this is not deliberately planned by his handlers then he is actually a danger even to himself.
Autocratic leaders in African like Lungu have sent Africa into a debt spiral. Just rhetoric of potential but he has stolen the money that should be used to realise that potential.
Oooh yeah ..this man,Mr.Lungu!!How is that 5 million tonnes going to come when right now NCZ is closed and all he does and his friends is make money out of maize through FRA at the backs of poor farmers!! What critical steps is he going to take to realise his illusions!?He has wasted the last 5 years seeing corruption rising at the expense of agricultural production and now wants to hoodwink us into believing him as a supporter of agriculture!!
NCZ isn’t closed. They’re currently manufacturing Fertilizer for Nyiombo who got a huge contract to supply Government. PF can’t award tenders to Govt owned companies because there’s no commission. It’s annoying to listen to Edgar make such statements when the reality is the opposite. The greed of PF is beyond redemption, they’ll leave Zambia bruised
@15.1 Ayatolla,thanks for the update.But even there as you have rightly pointed out Fertiliser supply contracts and FISP are just money making machines for himself, his Ministers,party cadres and his cronies! One wonders how the sector can grow when it is being used as a looting avenue!
“He was speaking in Mumbwa today when he officiated at the National Harvest Day held at Mabeba farm” …
I didn’t even know we had such a day. But he (ECL) who likes to be away from his desk and traverse the country at every excuse, is aware of ceremonies that ordinarily would only require the deputy agricultural PS to officiate at. He attends all these events at every turn without any major concrete policy announcement to make (having shied away from press conferences or addresses to the nation) and instead mumbles meaningless things, such as here, as he awakens from a stupor. Hitherto, the agricultural sector has not been for the benefit of Zambians?
LT June 29th,”UPND president Hakainde Hichilema tours farms used to support the poor.” Hahaha one is a tried and tested farmer with the technical know how of agri-business and the other one this is all new stuff. You can’t give what you don’t have, lekeni tuteke. After reading the angry comments on this thread, I think Hichilema should take over the running of this country period! Time we put country over personality cult and put a technocrat in state house.
You may hate him or not like him i hope Zambians will try HH for once he may jst be the rejected corner stone that will build our country back to prosperity.
The only way to transform agriculture is to transform Government!!! The way Njimbu put it, if only $5 billion had been sunk into agriculture, we’d now all be laughing with surplus exports. Problem is, no brown envelopes in agriculture, as is the situation with roadworks, etc.
In case you dont know,the biggest problem we have in Zambian governance system is not the president but senior Govnt officials who give useless advices to presidents!!What these top ranked Govnt officials do is always try to impliment policies which lead them to money spinning projects.They want to get rich overnight!!Thus,instead of initiating projects which can grow our economy at a rocket speed(such as starting huge Govnt farms across Zambia),they end up advising the president wrongs.Hence,stop blaming the president alone,but blame top Govnt officials too.WE CAN CHANGE PRESIDENTS LIKE PANTS,BUT IF WE WONT SOLVE THE ROOT CAUSE(GOVNT OFFICIALS),ZAMBIA WONT DEVELOP!!!
Njimbu
You are not serious. The incompetent lot surrounding the president were chosen by himself.And it is not like he has not been advised,he adamantly insists that he should not be advised who to work with.Cant see why you fail to understand that Lungu is the problem and the only solution is to replace him. In short the person expected to manage the nation,sort out our problems, is the problem himself
whatever airport guy
What happened to NRDC ? The ever vibrant ZNS farms?
When is goverment going to pay retirees?
Comment:Instead this man should have announced a ready plan of pumping serious dollars like those in the FIC report into this all important sector, not this loud thought process he’s subjecting us to. Please stop turning every occasion into a campaign platform
President Lungu is going to do what he says because they are realistic and some of you are just criticising because you don’t move .The president has belt hospitals and schools and these will live for years .It could be in Eastern ,Southern ,Western or Northern so long it is in Zambia if not you and me being helped ,your children , grandchildren and relatives will be helped . About agriculture there is protocol ,govt releases funds and subordinates still who is at fault ? the president or his subordinates? even if it’s firing can you fire all your subordinates when they are corrupt ? You see ,the President had a lot of work to do and to do that he needs support from every Zambian.But politics are turning the nation into a bedlam ,selfish motives ,wanting to be the one to have it all is…
“No vision statement requires wisdom ” If I was president and asked what I would do for my nation and knowing that I wish much more than my strength can ,I would leave it to God and say I have no vision than making fake promises like others do .He might seem vision less to someone of you because you have put a death ear ,blind eye and wrong perception about his Excellency . He’s belt hospitals which were just plans ,schools which were just on paper,roads where never existed ,bridges where water was a problem to human mobility,solar powered to dark places,mention things like Levy Mwanawasa Hospital look at the level it had reached .His Excellency is trying to make Zambia a better place but we ain’t supporting in anyway because Zambia is a rich country with power people.