Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo has said that said government will not declare the hunger situation in some parts of the country as a national crisis as the country is food secure.
Speaking at the same press briefing yesterday, Mr Katambo explained that the rest of the country is food secure apart from Southern and Western provinces and some parts of eastern province which were adversely affected by the effec ts of climate change.
He said there is therefore no need to declare a national food crisis as government is distributing food to the affected areas.
“The country is not in any food crisis except some parts of the country like southern, western and parts of eastern province but this does not mean the nation is food insecure,” Mr Katambo said.
Mr. Katambo also disclosed that his Ministry is engaging the security wings to help in dealing with smuggling of mealie meal in border areas .
“Through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), Government has continued to distribute maize from March till now in the hunger-stricken areas of the country and we are offloading huge amounts of maize in southern, western and other affected areas,” Katambo said.
The minister has encouraged farmers to venture into other agricultural practices such as conservation farming that are drought resilient.
“We encourage farmers to plant drought-resistant crops such as cassava, millet among others so that we do not depend on maize alone as a staple food and they should also practice conservation farming,” he said
The worst group of people! You force the Miller to buy a 50 Kg bag of maize at K130 but he sells a 25Kg meal at K150. Who benefits most in this trade? Did these people go to school, maybe that is the reason they are now contemplating to scrap grade 7 exams. School means nothing to them.
Ask yourself, who controls the Miller??? Doesn’t the farmer benefit from the k130 per 50kg bag price???
Thanks Katambo for speaking out’a proven figures in the coffers of the plentiness of corn seed at FRA.
The rest are just speaking from without.
I will take ya for ya word.
Government should help traders bring food in those affected areas, and accept free food from HH and Biswell Mutale.
People can give free food, but PF is blocking them. Barbarians.
Support your argument with figures.
JUST DECLARE PROVINCIAL EMERGENCY FOR THE TONGA’S IN SOUTHERN PROVINCE!
People starving in 2019 with all the modern agricultural technology? Israel export food but they are in a desert. Zambia with all the water and fertile land. No wonder starving Zambians are flocking to “barbarian” Xenophobic SA. Xenophobes in SA are dying of being over fed and yet they don’t have natural resources in par with Zambia. They even import fresh water from Lesotho. Zambia staple is maize the easiest and the cheapest crop to farm.
Hamulenga what are you yapping about?
Stop blogging, go cultivate the land in readiness for 2020 Farming Season.
Unless you’re yapping about Winter Maize, I take it you’re re-echoing ya’ need to do something out’a ya’ laziness.
Is it because of those 12/half kgs of mealie meal that where given to people that will make some individuals say the nation is food secure????
Cadre talk banene ba Katambo.
Where does PF get such stupet edyots as ministers?
Consultants are easier to handle and trust than political leaders because of their professionalism. Politics is not a profession. The politician is not trusted by ordinary people because politicians are insulated by the trappings of power. A declaration is not for fun. It is intended to prevent the worst case scenario. Angola also had two provinces affected by drought due to climatic change. The Government in that country adopted a proactive stance and made the declaration. As a result, the UN provided over 600 million dollars to cushion the country from shocks. Today that country is at peace with itself. Why not take a proactive stance? Pride comes before a fall. The declaration would silence critics once and for all. The relief operations would move into top gear.
Lungu thinks he has found an easy way of wiping out the people who do not support his lies, thievery and corruption – starve them to death. Genocide by famine.
Am sure he means he has enough food at his house, although those chick bones tell us the opposite. You should be eating banana minister
Bunch of stinking cretins calling themselves leaders. HH is the only answer for mother Zambia.
So called “security wings” are the biggest perpetrators of maize and mealie meal smuggling on Zambian borders.It will not solve the food problems facing Zambia today which is as a result of PF corruption and mismanagement of maize marketing in Zambia.The PF will pay a heavy price for this disaster they are refusing to acknowledge.