It’s time to stop pretending that things are ok under the PF. We are in a mess. This is why this week, by virtue of the Agriculture Commercial Society taking place and the Farmer’s day that falls today, I feel compelled to again speak about agriculture. The slogan by the Zambia National Farmers Union, “No farmer, no food”, can be extended by simply stating that if there is no food, there is no life. This is the crucial role that our farmers play in the country. This is the reason we equally have to look after them. A few days ago, farmers in France were protesting against the government’s bad policies that are killing their trade. The farmers started spraying manure in the centre of town to express their disgust and displeasure with their government. Should we wait until we are sprayed with manure for us to act in support of this very critical sector?
Farmers have received a raw deal from the very first day we reverted to multiparty politics. The first thing that was pulled beneath their feet was financing for their projects. The failure to capitalize Lima and Cooperative Bank by government was the first action that set farmers on a collision course with poverty. As though that was not enough, government carelessly introduced free market economics without the requisite legislation to regulate the actors. The free market economics hit the farmers first. All of a sudden farmers that had no skills to negotiate prices for their commodities were invaded with businessmen whose sole motive was making profits even if it meant killing the farmer in the process. And for sure agriculture from 1991 to about 2006 was none existent.
Into 2011 and beyond, agriculture has again started suffering despite the gains made after 2006. From the time PF took over there has been inconsistency in policy. We will state it for the record that despite the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) having been a programme designed to alleviate suffering or rather vulnerable farmers, it has ended up serving the rich. The fertiliser and seed suppliers have become rich at the expense of the farmers for whom this project was designed. We spoke about this to MMD and now PF, but clearly our message is falling on deaf ears. How have the fertiliser and input suppliers benefitted – its simple, they supply at highly inflated prices and get paid. This is the kind of half measure that we warned about even at the time this project was launched. The government through Hon. Given Lubinda have told the farmers to sell to the private market as GRZ is not interested in their harvest.
The crop producers have much more to deal with than what we have captured above. But there are deeper problems for livestock farmers. Haphazard policies have hit this sector most. This coupled with the new phenomenon of load shedding. On the one hand the PF says it is restocking livestock; on the other hand there are not extension workers to ensure that farmers get the required support to ensure that those animals are looked after well. There is employment and wage freeze, yet the agriculture sector does not have enough manpower to make this sector thrive. What about those farmers that are rearing dairy animals? These have been hit by inconsistence from two fronts. They cannot store their milk without the milk going bad because of load shedding. Milk is very sensitive to temperature changes. If you want to see the extent of damage to this industry, just speak to the Dairy Association of Zambia, you will get startling information about the effect of load shedding on the dairy industry. The dairy industry also has to contend with rising costs of livestock feed. The millers have increased prices because of the increase in production costs driven by high fuel prices and the unfavorable kwacha/dollar exchange rate. Livestock feed producers import certain elements that go into feed production, with a dollar rate that is almost 8 kwacha to a dollar it only makes sense that they have increase
That is ba lungu people voted for tiye nayo.
1.Kaunda supported farming (remember the go back to the land and Co ops) he had a farm himself. 2. Chiluba’s time: agriculture was grossily neglected. He instead supported street vending to such an extent that there was a street vendor’s desk at state house. I can not recall him having a farm. 3. Mwanawasa had a farm and during his time, a Ministry of Livestock was created which Sata shot down. Zambia has great potential in livestock production 4. RB is a farmer and he continued where Mwanawasa left. 5. Sata has no farm, and he did away with Ministry of Livestock. He even gave away Palabana Institute to Min. of Edu for free! Upto now staff who were at Palabana are lunquishing. Rumours are that the dairy training will be taken to ZIAH in Mazabuka, where the local government is busy taking away land from the already scarce land. 6. Lungu and agriculture…well…
Despite good eulogies and observations from HH the majority of Zambian illiterate voters don’t understand a thing. They don’t read all what is said. All they know is IFINTU PALI LUNGU.
True! For most Zambians it is that fake humility that Edgar plays that they count him as being God anointed for the presidency when their children and relatives are dying daily and the future of our children is highly compromised due to that same humility. The real vultures behind Lungu saw the potential and wonders that that humility could do.