Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Nkandu Luo says Zambia has the potential to be the food basket for the African continent because she is endowed with favourable resources to produce food.
Professor Luo said government has continued to prioritise the development of the agricultural sector in order not to only guarantee national food security but to also be able to export to other countries.
She said this during the Patriotic Front interactive forum in Lusaka today.
She said government has continued to put in several measures in order to support the sector.
The measures she cited are the farmer input support programme (FISP) and the massive road infrastructure development.
Prof. Luo stated that the road system has led to significant improvements in the agriculture sector as most farmers are now able to ferry their produce to markets across towns and borders.
She reiterated that the Patriotic Front government is committed to developing all key sectors of the economy, with the agriculture sector being one of them, as highlighted in the PF’s 2021-2026 manifesto.
She explained that the decision by the PF government to link the country through good roads is critical and has led to the successful improvement in the agriculture sector.
The Minister said contrary to critics who have downplayed the PF’s government resolve to improve roads across the country, farmers are having it easy to transport their agriculture produce to the readily available markets.
“The agriculture sector will only flourish if we build on the successes of massive infrastructure development that the PF government has embarked on. If the PF 2021 – 2026 manifesto is implemented, Zambia is poised to be a food basket for Africa and also a transport hub due to massive development in the road, rail and air transport sector,” she said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Luo has called for diversification in the agricultural sector in order to develop the sector more.
She said there is need to promote livestock farming in all the ten provinces of Zambia.
The minister has also encouraged farmers to form cooperatives in order to effectively benefit from the many empowerment programmes that are currently being implemented.
She said cooperatives help in the smooth resource mobilization for the establishment of businesses which ultimately leads to job and wealth creation.
“Cooperatives are key, they bring people with different abilities for easy management of resources. Every citizen must see the value of belonging to a cooperative going forward,” she said.
The major roads and rural areas from Nakonde, Copperbelt, kasumba lesa to chipata, the roads are not facilitating what is being said. We have done some roads in compounds and some roads in lusaka. Hardly roads to facilitate economic growth.
If you want me to show you an educated fooooool …it is this woman Luo an insult to Professors, if improved road system has led to significant improvements in agriculture how come you can not repay instalments for the huge loans you borrowed for these inflated road projects
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improved road system where lusaka ????????
Infrastructure development, at its best. My boys and girls at Lusakatimes thank you for maintaining sanity and moderating f00lish upnd diasporans.
Northwestern province still has no acceptable roads and we all saw the recent floods around Lusaka province looking like wasteland.
While improving the road network is a very important undertaking in a country, this has not transcended in improved living standards of the common man. Yes the PF govt has constructed the roads even though the contracts to build these roads were so inflated. The roads are only good for motorists as there are hardly walking or biking roads besides these huge road investments. It is a fallacy to claim that the improved road system has improved the agriculture sector, if this were true we would not have agricultural commodities being so expensive and unaffordable. There is definitely something amiss about this claim and what is actually on the ground. The claim would only be validate once the prices for agricultural commodities start reducing which is actually not expected anytime soon as…
With political will from the leadership its possible to achieve that. The problem is implementation, these things start well but later on they just die off and never to be revived. I remember during MMD, late Levy Mwanawasa launched irrigation scheme with great zeal to date less or it just disappeared in thin airs. There was also provincial farming blocks, raised a lot of false hopes to date not much is talked about that. I remember the Chiawa fuel from grass project commissioned by KK accompanied by his service chiefs which included then late Gen. Christon Tembo, there was a white man called Wilson, did his demonstration I don’t what happened after KK left power, no one has ever made a follow up.
Which roads? In Lusaka town only? We want roads to be constructed like Ndola-Lusaka dual carriageway, Stretch from Ndola Teaching Hospital to Indent Police check point. These are deadly. Luanshya Turn off to Luanshya CBD very bad. Now which roads is the Luo talking about? We want CHANGE bcoz of too much lies in PF.
Well said by our minister especially that she is from Sesheke, and the Sesheke livingstone road is excellent !
Signs of not traveling outside Lusaka there Hon Minister.