President Hakainde Hichilema has announced that his administration has classified livestock and agricultural theft as economic and financial crimes.
He has explained that following this, livestock and agriculture theft will be tried in the economic and financial crimes court with a prosecution period of five months.
President Hichilema has further directed the removal of bail for livestock theft offenders, in addition to the maximum sentence having been increased to seven years.
He has noted that this is expected to not only reduce such cases but also encourage more people such as retirees to invest in livestock and agriculture.
The Head of State said this in Lusaka, when he officially closed the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) 119th Annual Congress Meeting, held under the theme “Sustaining Productivity in a Changing Climate”.
President Hichilema further called on farmers in the country to partner with government and invest in the energy sector.
He says this will help mitigate the electricity shortage the country if facing, due to over dependence on hydro power, adding that farmers are among those affected as they require irrigation.
The President has since advised both farmers and Zambians at large to form consortiums and invest in sustainable energy ventures such as solar power projects.
“We are encouraging farmers and other citizens in the country to invest in energy. Demand in energy has increased. There’s already an off taker like ZESCO to aggregate what you will produce”, the Head of State stressed.
He has assured that investment in projects such as solar will be given presumptive approval on order to help expedite investment in the sector.
ZNFU has since ushered in a new President, Zvhikonyo Mahombe who takes over from Jervis Zimba.
Speaking at the same event, ZNFU Past President, Jervis Zimba commended President Hichilema for his policies that favour export of local agricultural products such the ban on onion imports.
He revealed that the Country was previously spending 40 million United States dollars, adding that the ban has empowered local farmers, leading to an increase in production of onions locally.
And United Capital Fertiliser (UCF) Board Chairperson, Chance Kabaghe expressed concern with the rise in the sale of fake seed in the Country.
He noted that small-scale farmers in rural areas are the majority of victims to such scams, a situation which threatens food security.
“We want the law stiffened for offenders just like it was done for cattle wrestlers” He proposed.
And Corteva Agri-Science Managing Director, Samson Nyendwa commended government for the 100 percent roll-out of the Electronic Voucher system under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
“The 100 percent roll-out of the e-voucher system is highly commendable as it empowers farmers with the liberty to choose the seed they would like to plant. It also improves efficiency of the FISP”, he said.
