Africa-Press – Zambia. The policy decision by the Zambian government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, to restrict the importation of potatoes and onions is a welcome move that deserves the support of all Zambians concerned with economic growth and recovery.
Zambia’s economy has for many years been shouldered by the agriculture sector but the growth of this industry squarely depends on the decisions that government makes.
For some time, we have witnessed massive importation of agricultural produce which we know quite well is produced by our local farmers. This effectively renders local production useless and throws the farmers into untold squalor and suffering as most of these imports are at times sold at cheap prices.
With the policy decision announced to ban imports of potatoes and onions, we’re assured of a quick turnaround for our local farmers that produce these two products. This move will without doubt be positive on the commodity value chains and will guarantee stable incomes for all value chain actors.
This decision will also push up local production of these two commodities and compel farmers to invest more for a good return. We urge the government to now consider looking at other products which we have comparative advantage to produce, such as fruits and vegetables. Continued imports of these commodities has eroded jobs locally, especially now when we have some serious currency fluctuations and the COVID-19.
