The Food and Agriculture Organization says it will be difficult for Zambia to meet sustainable agriculture production with inadequate funding to the agriculture sector.
FAO Country Representative Dr George Okech said Zambia’s funding to the sector is still way below the Maputo declaration which requires about 10 percent of the budget to be allocated to the agriculture sector.
Dr Okech noted with sadness that only a few countries on the continent have met the Maputo declaration on the budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector.
Speaking at the commemoration of this year’s world food day organized by Global Citizen, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance and Hivos Southern Africa, Dr Okech advised the Zambian government to put more money in the agriculture sector to guarantee food security.
And Dr Okech said FAO is working with government and other stakeholders to develop the Post Harvest Loss strategy that will help minimize the loss of agriculture produce.
He said the strategy if implemented will ensure that Zambia produces post harvest loss of grain including tomatoes, mangos and other produce which goes to waste every year.
Dr Okech regretted that a lot of food goes to waste every year in Zambia when some people are going hungry.
Speaking at the same event, Global Citizen Lead Zambia Campaigner Mwandwe Chileshe noted with concern that hunger has continued to be on the increase in Zambia.
Ms Chileshe said the high food insecurity risks reversing the gains made in reducing malnutrition cases in Zambia.
She said the World Food Day commemorated last week should be used to get government and other stakeholders on board to start taking action to address the hunger situation.
And the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance says government needs to put in place policies that will support diverse food production.
CSO-SUN Country Coordinator Mathews Mhuru said there is need for reforms in food production policies to encourage production of food at lower levels.
FAO is right here especially in this coming fiscal year budget which only has 10% of total discretionary spending allocated to all other sectors of the economy.
Public and private debt servicing together with emoluments take up 90% of all our available resources. You can live on 10% of your income and be self sustaining as a country.
This year’s budget is a sham of a budget … sad.
Epo mpelele nebo
BRM
Meant to say “… you ‘cannot’ live on 10%”
Lets roll in the sea of “great achievements” supported by closeted gay from Atlanta
We really need to move away from an agrucultural sector that is dependant on government hand out to one that is s erlf sustaining. How long has the FISP been in place and yet the recipients are still not able to run sustainable enterprises? The white farmers in Zim and SA, where able to be sustainable and produce crops that formed the bedrock of their respective economies. Why are we failing. Its because African politicians want to keep us poor and dependent on handouts! So they dont use the taxpayers money to train and empower effective and educated farmers. Instead they give FISP perpetually to ignorant farmers and cadres who can never be sustainable. And after five years they come and demand for votes as repayment for FISP. And what is more annoying is that when the cadres get the…
Dr Okech noted with sadness that only a few countries on the continent have met the Maputo declaration on the budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector.
“The results point to three conclusions: First, there is positive and significant relationship between agricultural expenditure and agricultural output in Nigeria. Second, increasing agricultural expenditure to 10% of the total expenditure in line with Maputo Declaration would have increased agricultural output by 11-times greater than the impact of what is actually spent on agriculture. Third, educated agricultural work force is also important in stimulating agricultural output.”-by Bassey Ebi University of Calabar
Comment: I truly support this, our government has not done enough to this sector
ECL is cheating himself that prayers will resolve the food problems of this country.
Relying on god to provide is the problem……..right now everything PF is doing is on the premise of good rains.
We have the largest 24/7/52 water bodies in our region and should not be 100% dependent on rains…..