In a meeting held at State House yesterday, the Banker Association of Zambia had the distinct honor of being hosted by President Hakainde Hichilema. The delegation, led by the association’s Chairperson, Ms. Mizinga Melu, engaged in discussions that spanned various topics, with a primary focus on leveraging the ‘Agriculture Credit Window’—a government-initiated facility designed to propel the growth of Zambia’s vital agriculture sector.
Acknowledging the intrinsic value of agriculture as the current and future backbone of Zambia’s economy, President Hichilema emphasized the need to overcome challenges posed by climate change. Despite these challenges, Zambia boasts abundant water bodies and resources, underscoring the sector’s strategic importance.
The discussions delved into the impact of regional demand for maize and the geopolitical tensions, particularly the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, on Zambia’s food security. Recognizing these external factors, the delegation and the government jointly identified the imperative to support farmers in enhancing their yield from 5 to 10 tonnes per hectare.
To tackle these challenges head-on, a proposal was put forth to structure and projectize the Agriculture Credit Window. This approach aims to empower banks to implement systems that identify and prioritize crucial areas such as precision irrigation, water harvesting, and mechanization, thereby ensuring the sustainability of agriculture for farmers.
President Hichilema assured the Banker Association of Zambia that the government has taken concrete steps to formalize the legal trade of commodities with neighboring countries. Transactions will be conducted through established banking systems, providing a secure framework for financial interactions. With robust market mechanisms, including agreements with neighboring nations and the Food Reserve Agency, the President expressed confidence that banks would recover the credit extended to farmers seamlessly.
The discussions underscored the collaborative efforts between the government and financial institutions to fortify Zambia’s agriculture sector. As the nation grapples with global challenges, these strategic initiatives aim to not only secure food production but also bolster the economic resilience of the country.
This how the IMF puppet Ichilema wants to kill FISP by replacing it with indent farmers. Let me educate HH and his dead brain cadres, the most successful mining, agriculture and oil producing countries in world even the Americans that HH admires the most fund their Industries and buy the produce from the Industry for export. They support their own people. HH is supporting whites to exploit the Zambian people in mining and agriculture. If a farmer borrows money from ABSA/Mizinga Melu and pays back with hefty interest rates, who makes the profits is a none Zambian owned ABSA Bank and the circle of poverty still continues.
Lets not talk about developed countries
we are 3rd world if that ……. being spoon fed all the time is a drain on the already streched economy
@ KCI what is wrong with discussing credit initiatives? Why do we like complaining? Let FISP be FISP but that does not mean we close other doors. I think your line of thought is biased on this one.
Try not to look look through you cadre eyes and I am not complaining. This farming season because pf IMF/HH who have not delivered farming inputs, will be terrible and come next year when there is no maize HH will be blaming at Lungu for yet another failed farming season. Bless yourselves for mealie meal at k500 and the worst performing currency in the world.
This is what happens when you have a puppet in government …. nearly every week the British ambassador visits the puppet…the question is for what!
Foreigners are benefitting yet the owners of the land and minerals are suffering… surely they must be a Judas Iscariot in this current government.
So the government will give money to the banks to lend out to farmers at a reduced interest rate but that interest still remains with the bank while government may or may not get their money back depending on recovery rates. No wonder BAZ is smiling.
We need state funds in all the districts and govt should set up an agricultural fund