Africa-Press – Zambia. It is clear that prospects of a bumper harvest in 2022 are dwindling by the day considering the prolonged dry spell across the country. We also noted that farmers across the country who planted following the first rains have had their crop completely drying up. Majority of these small holder farmers do not have the capacity to replant even after the rains normalise. We are therefore faced with a situation where citizens in different parts of the country will need relief food in 2022.
Against this background, I wish to call on Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, to halt the exportation of maize UNTIL THE RAINS HAVE NORMALISED and AFTER ESTIMATING THE IMPACT of the dry spell on 2022 HARVEST.
Further, the Ministry of Agriculture is called upon to inform Zambians about the FULL EXTENT of this dry spell. The Ministry should also focus on preparing small scale farmers on climate change adaptation methods across the country.
Lastly, I wish to call upon Government to INVEST HEAVILY IN IRRIGATION across the country, as a medium to long term measure, so as to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
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