The Kalumbila District Administrative Officer, Frank Siatwinda, has urged the government to consider making Agricultural Science a compulsory subject in schools to engage children in agricultural activities from an early age.
Speaking at the launch of the distribution of the Food Security Pack (FSP) 2023/2024 farming inputs under the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services at Mutanda Community Hall in Mumena chiefdom, Mr. Siatwinda emphasized the potential of the agricultural sector to provide employment opportunities for school leavers.
“Allow me to encourage the government to make agriculture compulsory in our school curriculum so that our children can be engaged in agriculture production at an early stage. The agriculture sector is capable of employing a large number of school leavers who are currently roaming the streets,” said Mr. Siatwinda.
The Food Security Pack (FSP) is a social safety net program identified in the National Social Protection Policy, targeting poor and vulnerable but viable farmer households, especially those headed by females, providing them with agricultural inputs and accompanying services.
“The 2023/2024 farming season has targeted 1,062 beneficiaries in all the 12 wards of Kalumbila district,” added Mr. Siatwinda.
The overall objective of the FSP program is to empower poor and vulnerable households with agricultural inputs and livelihood skills, enhancing productivity, nutrition, food security, and incomes for self-sustainability and poverty reduction.
Encouraging beneficiaries to utilize the inputs effectively, Mr. Siatwinda advised them to join cooperatives or farmer and savings groups. The distribution includes compound D fertilizer, urea fertilizer, groundnut seed, maize seed, and beans.
Acting District Community Development Officer Louis Mulale explained that the majority of FSP beneficiaries in the district are women, emphasizing that the target groups include female-headed households, the aged, disabled, child-aided households, and unemployed youth.
Beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the government’s support, emphasizing the positive impact on their ability to cater for their families’ food needs. Bridget Kangala, a first-time beneficiary, praised the program, highlighting its importance in assisting vulnerable individuals and families.
Why not mining and mineral economics since Zambia has relied on mining for the past 100 years and there’s no indication that we’ll depart from that any time soon?
Let’s unpack Zambia’s record from such simplistic thinking. A local first-ever school to offer undergraduate business-related courses was set up at Copperbelt University in the late 1970s. The aim was to mint our own business moguls from some graduates of the local business school while some were expected to offer expert management of local businesses so that they would grow into local, if not regional, champions. Where are local champions in our economy founded by CBU alumni? Even in agriculture, we are still relying on peasants to grow our staple food despite years of teaching agricultural science from O-level, through diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate level. Time has come to take a deliberate effort to create local industry champions from this skilled labour.
truth is stranger than fiction. A BIG NO!
Being a farmer or qualified in farming doesn’t make you a good farmer. Point in case: f00Iish hh claims to be successful farmer but has failed to manage agriculture as a president under his useless upnd govt.
Ask upnd vice president about the fertiliser deal that ugly woman stole
Transporter, business man international exporter, employer of over a 1,000 workers,
and now a farmer why has fugitive been left out…….
It’s not the subject you need to evaluate, it the content. Stop teaching stone age methods of farming. Chitemene systems is oldskool.
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”
—John Adams