Samuel Mbewe
The Ministry of Agriculture has disclosed that the recent climate shocks are estimated to affect 9.8 million people in Zambia.
Ministry Permanent Secretary John Mulongoti says it is projected that if the country will continue with business as usual, agriculture production output will decline by 30 percent by 2080 under the current climate change scenarios.
He said the enormity of the task of building a sustainable and resilient agrifood system cannot be stressed enough.
Mr. Mulongoti says with a comprehensive assessment of policy options and agrifood system, the country will be on the right path to face the challenges head on and achieve development goals of increasing incomes, ensuring food and nutrition security, attaining higher agricultural GDP growth, and creating employment.
He has observed that the increasing occurrences of droughts and floods as well as food crises are more prevalent today than ever before.
Mr. Mulongoti says all these happenings underscore the pressing necessity for collaborative efforts in reshaping the food system.
He said that these extreme weather conditions threaten the productivity of the agricultural sector in Zambia and the economy as a whole.
Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute Research Director Brian Mulenga says the current drought situation should be used as an opportunity to come-up with innovations that will help Zambia to deal with any drought situation in future which include irrigation and research.
ANAPRI Interim Executive Director Dr. Anthony Chapoto says the initiative by President Hakainde Hichilema to invest in irrigation is one long term measure which must be embraced.
He says the country should not only focus on humanitarians on the drought affected citizens but long term measures that will ensure the country is food secure going forward.
And Mr. Chapoto says it’s high time the country embraces other climate resilience crops which will help in the attainment of food security.
The Republican president Hakainde Hichilema has therefore tasked Agriculture researchers to step up efforts in developing drought resistant crops to help the country meet its agricultural needs.
He said in view of the drought situation, Zambia must begin to look into research to breed crops that can withstand any climatic conditions. President Hichilema has also called for breeding of crops that have high yield.
He says his administration’s goal is to produce more products for both domestic consumption and export.
President Hichilema says currently there is a global food deficit stating that Zambia should take advantage of that crisis by producing more so as to begin contributing to the global food basket needs by way of exports.
He has further appealed for international aid to address the country’s drought crisis as Government estimates that K22.2 billion is needed to meet humanitarian and recovery needs.
The Head of State said initially, the funds needed were over K23 billion but only K1.3 billion is available.
He said these funds will be used for food assistance, education, healthcare, water management, agriculture, and livestock preservation.