The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has assured that ongoing geo-political between Russian and Ukraine will not affect the supply of wheat and wheat products in the country as Zambia produces sufficient corn to meet the demand.
And ZNFU has reiterated its call to government to maintain the ban on the importation of agricultural products such as onion and processed potatoes.
Zambia National Farmers Union president Jervis Zimba says the union will work closely with government to ensure sustained and stable prices of wheat products in view of happenings in Ukraine which is a major supplier of wheat for most African countries.
He was speaking in Choma yesterday during a farmer’s engagement meeting.
Mr. Zimba explained that most farmers in the country have embraced crop diversification and that a good number of farmers are already involved wheat production, giving the country comparative advantage.
And Mr. Zimba has appealed to government to sustain the ban on importation agricultural products such as onions, potatoes and powdered milk whose production is sufficient to meet the country’s local demand.
He has noted that such a ban would facilitate increased production among local farmers and thereby creating opportunities for the agricultural sector to thrive.
Meanwhile, Greenfield Managing Director Jacob Chisenga says agro dealers will continue supporting government efforts to grow the agriculture sector through supply of climate smart agricultural inputs.
Mr. Chisenga has commended government for creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
That’s the person who once said Zambia had enough onions so no need to import. The next we saw was onion shortage coupled with price hikes.
@Umuntu: What has GRZ ever said that you were support of-what? mention one
Do you want me to call HH now to come put his office at your house?
Perhaps, one should ask themselves, why was Zambia importing wheat products from Ukraine? Was there a trade agreement between two countries?
What was the actual reason of importing wheat products whereas Zambia had sufficient wheat products to sustainably supply its own citizen?
What was Zambia exporting to Ukraine which would affect the foreign currency into Zambia’s current account? Lets understand why countries trade and the benefit of it?
What we the citizens need to do is to follow the strategy of the public sectors by empowering ourselves with the knowledge of what change we need to see. We should also ask these public servants difficult questions coupled with evidence. If government does not deliver what they promised, we vote them out. Alternatively, if one is honourable, they would willingly step down for not delivering and keeping to their promises.
Highly misleading statement without a deep analytical base.
All wheat products that you find in the supermarket, and at distributors that supply bakeries, come from abroad. The wheat that Zambia produces is not even 5% of what the country needs. And ALL seeds for wheat farms comes from abroad too.
“Mr. Chisenga has commended government for creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.”-LT
surely” operator
“The word ‘surely’ is as good as a blinking light locating a weak point in the argument.” Daniel Dennett