Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) Executive Director Muyunda Illilonga says the current food situation in the country is pathetic.
Mr Illonga explains that this is because the availability of Mealie meal in the country especially on the Copperbelt and other urban areas is erratic.
He said the soaring Mealie meal prices is a matter of concern which requires urgent attention as it was threatening national security.
He explained that since most Zambian people are not yet accustomed to eating other alternative food items like cassava and rice hence the need for government to regard the commodity as an important for national food security.
Mr. Illilonga however said the current food situation may change with the off loading of more maize meal on the market by Government.
The ZACA Chief told ZANIS in an interview that it was gratifying to note that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had signed a memorandum with the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) to purchase maize directly from the farmers.
He said this was a positive step by Government towards enhancing food security as it will cushion the Mealie meal deficit the country is presently experiencing.
And Mr. Illilonga has said that the current flood situation in the country will undoubtedly have an effect on the country’s yields this season.
He however said the situation would not go to an extent of the country having a food deficit. He said the surplus yields from other parts of the country will supplement the deficits in flood inflicted areas.
Mr. Illilonga has since urged Government to ensure that FRA enters the market at the right time to buy more maize from farmers before the commercial farmers.
He said this way Government will be able to outwit the commercial farmers who are in the habit of holding Government at ransom and therefore enhance food security in the country.
He has also called on Government to support peasant farmers by providing them with modern farming equipment such as tractors in order to increase their production levels, and hence contribute effectively to the countrys’ agricultural yields.
Mr. Illilonga said there is need for Government to encourage mechanization in farming as opposed to farming using hoes in planting their foods.
ZANIS/PM/ENDS/MM
The food issue is a bad situation in Zambia. Please feed the people.
Purchasing corn directly from farmers is what should always have been done, but everybody is greedy like Somali pirates
Prepare for hard times ahead.
#3 1984 says. If you use that line one more time, I will double slap you
#3 prepare for a DOUBLE SLAP ahead LOL
The situation is serious! I know how hard it is for my fellow countrymen & women to transform from akabwali to something else. After close to 18yrs in Germany, I still feel as if I haven’t eaten enough after going several days without akabwali.
Iwe chi 1984 things are bad back home and yet you still have the nerve to keep quoting that pathological statement — wapangwa shani kanshi mambala iwe?
#6 George Orwell
In his classic novel, 1984,described a totalitarian society in which the government, referred to as the Party, had almost total control over the people. The supreme ruler of the Party was Big Brother. Posters announced that “Big Brother is Watching You”. Telescreens droned endlessly with brainwashing propaganda about wondrous government programs. Coins, stamps, books, films, and banners proclaimed the three slogans of the Party: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.
The president of Mexico received one of the more unusual gifts given by the Queen of enland during the G 20 meeting – a copy of the classic dystopian novel 1984.At Buckingham Palace, Felipe Calderon was presented with a first edition of George Orwell’s nightmarish book, which tells of a totalitarian regime and coined the concept Big Brother. Jamaco and Nine Chale i advice you to read the book then you will know where am coming from.
It’s simple.To me, 1984 is a prophetic warning.To them, it’s an operating manual.
sicko!
1984 your comments and insights regarding George Orwell’s literature are very much appreciated and followed by me and no doubt others BUT if you keep rubbing them into our eyes every time we come to this site, we simply become fed up!
Allow me one piece of advice — try not to take things quite so literally. A lot of books have been written by a lot of minds about life but it is up to YOU to master YOUR life with YOUR strategy.
Too much theory over here!! Zambia has less than 15 Million people to feed. It really should not be so difficult. other countries like nigeria have to feed over 200 million people.
I only hope some of you here (like 1984) will never be policy makers. Otherwise its just talk and busy referring to what other people said instead of using the brains to come up with the solution.
The first thing that we africans at the alt-most are eager to learn is “speech” and in the end we realize that talking will not bring a meal on the table. still we never learn. please stand up and come up with solutions and not spitting saliva everywhere. shaaaaaaaaaaaa
#11 and 12.For a secular audience, George Orwell’s novel 1984 may have framed the concept of the days to come. But closer scrutiny of today’s world reveals that we’re actually much closer to this apocalyptic scenario than we might have imagined. We’re going forward with small, but steady steps in which everything appears as normal as can be.
I would strongly want to thing that 1984 is not a Zambian because he always prophesying doom. Mr Ililongas concerns are very valid. We know that our people back home survive on mealie meal and anything threatening the smooth flow of the commodity should worry any noble thinking Zambian…I hope you start thinking rationally….I know that you care and that you are just trying to be different.
For Sure
Following “He explained that since most Zambian people are not yet accustomed to eating other alternative food items like cassava and rice hence the need for government to regard the commodity as an important for national food security”, my advice is that teach them to eat other stuff. Change in life is good and inevitable almost always.
Let us learn to use everything good for our healthy as food and we as a people will be ready to face the challenges ahead of us.
In zambia we are spoilt,kaunda did a lot to develop zambia but the old man missed something vital,he never implanted in us the vital culture of self sustaining in food production per household the ujamaa type.i know a cross section of critics will tear my argument apart but am conviced it carries an element of truth.the present family in urban zambia today do not deem it necessary to own a small land where they can cultivate especially the staple food which is maize to supplement household food security.this has been so from i believe colonial days.in zambia we rely on the maize which is cultivated by the farmer then bought by FRA who in turns sells to the miller who supplies the retailer.so as this maize passes through production to become mealie-meal it incurs cost
Continued
The quesn to Mr Ililonga – how is Japan with no much arable land like Z’s feeding her 127,078,679 population on 374,744 sq km as opposed to Z’s 740,724 sq km for a population of 11,862,740? Difkot part to accept is that we’re a lazy nation full of greedy people. Lazy to think of simple solutions coz they’re mundane for selfish monetary gains.Chiluba brought this syndrome coz never has there been high levels of ukupula kwabene than in Chiluba’s and post chiluba period. For a start, we could engage commercial farmers to have particular produce all-year-round in our provinces on a revolving basis. E.g, cycle 1-Southern to grow maize, Eastern=groundnuts and tobacco, Northern=cassava and beans, Central=cotton and soya beans, Northwestern=chingovwa or you call uvuni etc. Reverse for…
cont’d from 18. Reverse for cycle 2. To avoid amalililsho from small-scale farmers, we could do the same revolving but at cooperative level or, if Chiefs could prive oversight, at village level so that even the question of fake cooperatives can be dealt with.
so as it incurs costs every handler wants a profit.so buy the time one bag of meali meal becomes ready for the market it’s cost price will arleady be on the higher side.so what we need to do is to copy the tanzanian way of living.in tanzania it’s rare to find bagged mealie meal for sale.households have got a culture of owning a”shamba” small farms or paddies if you like.it can be in the village or any other area where you can find a peace of land.all you do is send the farming inputs to your kinsmen in the village or whereve you have a shamba.so these people will cultivate and when they harvest every month they will be sending you maybe a 50kg bag which in turn you will be taking to the hammer mill to mill your own mealie meal.and they have alternative food in rice which to us is…
so to sum it up as long as we are relying on mealie meal from the milling companies insala tayakapwe.
I feel particularly sad to have read , the statement that Zambians are not used to eating cassava and rice ……What was my meal this evening ? What are our basic requirements , carbohydrates ,Proteins , Vitamins and essentials minerals. This all all we need …. genuineness and being sincere is all we need ,not old age , nor tribal inclinations . But what is it that which is viable for Zambia? .What are the first class proteins? What are the , essential amino acids , and CHOS , that we need … we have all in Zambia ,don’t we ?
The great functionalists of Life dwells not , in condemning , that is the work of the evil one. The nobility of life ,is in helping the least of our brethren , and making them understand ,why we need cassava , sweet potatoes , Irish potatoes , fish,kapenta eggs ,meat in different forms , and a balanced diet with nshima/bohobe and live ….
” He explained that since most Zambian people are not yet accustomed to eating other alternative food items like cassava and rice hence the need for government to regard the commodity as an important for national food security. ”
Not yet accustomed? That makes the people sound like Mary Antoinette. Like ‘they couldn’t possibly’ eat rice or cassava. And since when are cassava and rice ‘alternative food’? This article makes it sound like the food situation is not that serious. Or at least that no one is taking it seriously. Am I wrong in this?
# 24 That is essentially , the way I understood it .Come to dissect it , it is the most gullible statement of the day …. people feed on rice in Zambia , others feed on cassava in Zambia yet others others feed on chapati, what we need is educational promotions on the nutritional requirement….. correct me
17. AKAPONDO says:
” In zambia we are spoilt,kaunda did a lot to develop zambia but the old man missed something vital,he never implanted in us the vital culture of self sustaining in food production per household the ujamaa type. ”
I agree that food the food supply should be highly decentralized, so as to make it far less vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters. There should be investment in commercial scale organic agriculture, which is sustainable and requires the smallest amount of off the farm inputs. Please google: keyline designs
This website shows how you can farm by keeping as much water on the land, and without depleting groundwater or depend on off the farm irrigation. Also google: “no till farming” These are very green practices, which are completely…
Also, on youtube /com, please type in:
permaculture water
This is a great video from Geoff Lawton, on the use of swales to store water in the soil, preventing evaporation and making it available for prolonged periods of time.
# 26 I have checked the web sites , and the topics, no water for the land and no tilling land , anyhow I am not an expert in the field of agric , do you personally have experienced this kind of farming? What was the yield ? are you able to put it as a position paper ? Somewhat it is similar to our traditional Zambian farming methods. Can they be done at commercial farming or large scale farming?
DODO says; This shortage of food food will contiune until a point that we wiil admire Zimbabwe.
The biggest problem facing Zambia at the moment is pride and prentencious life style. Everyone is talking about the urgent need to diversify from copper dependency to agriculture but how many Zambian youths are willing and ready to start farming.
MrK, how can one get in touch with you?
#16 Maestro, is right. Everywhere you go in this world people behave according to the dictates of life-style. In Zambia there is plenty of agro produce such as cassava, sweet patatoes, umumbu, pumpkins, imyungu, yams, etc that can replace maize meal. I am sure everyone abroad agree with me that in place of akabwali we all have learnt to prepare all the above mentioned food stuff for our main meals. However, the media working with hotels and restaurants, must be in the forefront to promote these delicious dishes…
..Cookery is big showbiz, here. And cheffs are celebrites who make a lot of money on telly just to teach people on how to prepare all sorts of dishes. How can we really take rice for a snack. Honestly, life is bound to be expensive if you gonna be eating nshima throughout. And then food technologists of Zambia don’t what they are doing. They can’t come up with ways of processing and preserving the abundant various agro products Zambia is endowed with. Sweet potatoes can be made into powder for mash just like iris potatoes are processed…
…Food Technologists, do you as usual, need a white guy to come and show you how to process and preserve your own foods? Don’t you learn such thing at the college betweenChainama Hosptl and Chelston? Sorry, I have forgotten the college’s name.
The situation of food should be tackled with the seriousnes it deserves. We can not continue living like we do not know what we are doing. Every season we produce enough maize, but people in positions are not making necessary arrangements to have food reserved. It is not clear wheather we do not have qualified people in government to ensure that we maintain food security through out the year. Can the government set the floor price for maize now before selfish business men cheat our peasant farmers out of their hard earned harvests.
..Lets come back to the our media, (tv, radio, newspapers, magazine, (internet), cinemas, etc. Instead of featuring politicians why can’t you be instrument to solving some of the straight forward problems ZAmbia is facing-eg food. Give more space to programmes on your media that talk about food preservation and different ways of preparing it using different products which are readily available in Zambia. And please, desserts (sweet courses) are not only for rich familes. In Zambia almost everyone can afford a sweet course. We have plenty of manoes (at least each house has a fruit tree), which just rot..
One does not need a kilimanjalo of nshima to get full. Leave some space for a nicely prepared and presented cocktail 9mango, pineapples, guavas, insongwa, amasuku, impundu, imfinsa, oranges, insokolobe, papaya, (pears, aples, ect), ifitungulu to name but a few)) of fruit salad. White people now even started eating ifinkubala/ifishimu. They are cleverly diverse. HOSPITALITY, FOOD TECHNOLOGY WITH MEDIA, WAKE UP. GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT.
Nine Chale’s comments are extremly boring and predicted. Cheap. No humour, very attention seeking, pretence, name it all
People should start accepting Rice is a good substitute for akabwali. all you need is getting used to it.
Mwebantu mwe bantemwa sport bushe mwalitamba ba chisanda Mutti pa you tube? if you type in ‘Just Like Rocky II’ awe that should have been fight of the century
Elyo mwe bantu , ndefwaya ukwipusha ko, ninshi POST bafwayila ka payment before reading news , it should free. Ka sun newspaper ka free.
#35, JY. KK, did that throughout his lifetime as a president and lamentably failed. Diversification in food and the change of eating habbits with ZAmbians will fix the price of food. And of course supported by proper marketing and distribution systems. But as we are saying most of the media is controlled by the govt for self-promotion. Thats why all you see in the media is one, whose face looks like he’s had an early bout with Mike Tyson.
wiseman-reborn says:
” Somewhat it is similar to our traditional Zambian farming methods. ”
I am interested in traditional farming methods, and how they can be upscaled to a commercial level.
kamunyama says:
” MrK, how can one get in touch with you? ”
I don’t know if I can post my e-mail address here, but check out my blog:
maravi.blogspot /com
Mikomfwa, ” Purchasing corn directly from farmers is what should always have been done ”
I have this vision, that some day all farmers will be able to sell their maize through ZAMACE (zamace /com). This would result in perfect price discovery and cut out the middle men, so that farmers actually get the national market price for their maize.
This would also do wonders for ZAMACE’s turnover and liquidity.
From the ZAMACE website:
The Exchange is structuring a system of storage locations in some districts through which small holders can deposit their commodities as a way of bulking up their produce to access the commercial market.
These storage centres will be in two forms; privately run and public storage or community run. The communities through their shed committees will act on behalf of the farmers who deposit commodities in these sheds. The committees will engage a broker and issue instructons to sell on the Exchange. However, the public storage centres will issue warehouse receipts to those who deposit their produce. The minimum quantity will therefore be 30 tons or 600 bags.
This initiative is aimed at kick-starting a storage industry in the country and encourage commodities of a particular quality to be bulked up to access the commercial market. The pilot areas are Chongwe, Kabwe, Mumbwa, Petauke, Monze and Choma.