EVE OF THE 109TH ZNFU ANNUAL CONGRESS….. As a prelude to congress, ZNFU held discussion sessions on 14th October which covered a number of topical issues in the agriculture sector. The two parallel sessions were held under the themes of Agricultural Competitiveness and Agricultural Export Markets. AGRICULTURAL COMPETITIVENESS SESSION The session on Agricultural Competitiveness was chaired by Dr. Jacob Mwanza, and covered the following topics: 1. Bio-security measures for pig farming The presentation on bio-security measures was done by Dr Peter Vervoot, an expert veterinarian from South Africa. This presentation focused on prevention of pigs’ diseases such as African swine fever on farms. Key outcomes from this presentation include: • Farmers should not allow their pigs to drink from open water sources. • Farmers should ensure that trucks used to transport pigs from farm to market are disinfected. • Farmers should not allow open access to pig’s premises by any person not wearing disinfected protective clothing or shoes. • Farmers should ensure that they buy feed for their pigs from credible sources. • All vehicles coming onto the farm should be disinfected before allowed entry on the farm. • Farmers should use concrete housing floors for the piggery. • Prevention of disease outbreaks on the farm is better and cheaper than cure. • There is no cure for African swine fever because it is a virus. 2. Bridging the deficit on edible oil production in Zambia The presentation on edible oil production in Zambia was made by Dr Rhoda Mofya of Indaba Research Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) in Zambia. The meeting observed that Zambia has potential to be self-sufficient in edible oil production if only government can support the growth of other commodities such as sunflower and groundnuts with higher edible oil content than soya beans. The key outcomes of this session were as follows: • Government to discourage the importation of refined edible oil to protect farmers from cheap imports. • Agro-chemical companies should include slips with information on the use of inoculum for small scale farmers to read. • Government should promote small scale processing of edible oils to create demand for primary oilseeds. 3. Implications of the New Water Act on farmers The presentation on New Water Act was done by Mr Paul Kapotwe, Director General for the Water Resource Management Authority (WARMA) in Zambia. The presentation focused more on the conversion of water rights into water permits by WARMA and what farmers should do in order to comply with the new law. Key outcomes of the presentation include: • Water rights have been transformed into water permits, and WARMA has extended the period for converting water rights into permits by two (2) months starting October 2014. • All commercial users of water (dams, boreholes) should obtain permits from WARMA. • Failure to adhere to the requirements of the New Water Act in is punishable to a fine or imprisonment for a maximum period of three years. • The owner of a dam is required to report to WARMA when the construction of the dam is completed. The report is to be provided to the sub-catchment council and the catchment council within 30 days of the conclusion of the construction. • There will be no more private ownership of water. All water is vested in the state. • Government can revoke water permit as and when necessary and compensate the permit holders. Farmers were concerned that the process of complying with the new water act was complex and appealed to WARMA to work with farmers in order for them to be compliant. Additionally, farmers observed that a number of structures under the new Water Act such as User Associations, Catchment Councils etc have not been established and this will delay the process of application for water permits by farmers. Going forward, WARMA promised to publish articles in the Zambian Farmer Magazine to sensitize farmers on the new Water Act. The presenter also informed the meeting that WARMA had obtained a US$50 million loan from World Bank for these water reforms. 4. Agricultural policy on promoting competitiveness The senior government officials from Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock made a presentation on what government was doing to promote agricultural competitiveness. In Zambia. During discussion, farmers raised concern that the process of obtaining GMO-free certificate and Sanitary and Phytosanitary certificates was very slow and tedious because of bureaucracy by the responsible government departments under Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. On irrigation, small scale farmers indicated that only large scale farming seemed to be accessing irrigation facilities in Zambia due to resource constraints. Additionally, poor extension services in the country has constrained small scale farmers to acquire skills/information which is key in improving productivity. AGRICULTURAL EXPORT MARKET SESSION The Agricultural Export market conference held on the side-lines of the just ended ZNFU 109th congress heard various presentations from experts that addressed the question of how farmers can benefit from the growing local and regional markets for high value agricultural products. The meeting, which was chaired by Dr. Muliokela, covered topics which included; Opportunities for beef commodity in regional markets deliver, Strategies for enhancing commodity marketing, Boosting Farm income through trade and Government policies on agricultural exports. During discussions, the meeting observed that Agriculture is more likely to provide a competitive edge for Zambia and that the country had registered growth in traditional exports with a gradual diversification to higher-value products. The ministry of commerce and trade also indicated to farmers during the same meeting that the commerce and trade policy was being revised to develop separate Industrial and Trade Policies so as to allow for the full realization of governments commitment to providing an enabling economic environment which supports private investments and also puts priority on agriculture as a key sector of the economy. Farmers were also encouraged to focus on production efficiencies and securing forward prices that keep them in business and were also cautioned about the importance of planning their production through review of the market needs and forecasts and potential for export markets. Some of the bottle necks to trade, especially regional trade were identified as being: 1. Unpredictable trade policies – Risk of trade bans (in Zambia and elsewhere) for maize and other commodities discourages investment and planning. – Little private competition and choice of FISP inputs (maize centric, one type of basal fertilizer, vouchers have never materialized). 2. Limited domestic and regional transport links 3. Grades and standards; warehouse management – EAC mandatory requirements difficult to meet – High costs of EAC and Zambian standards compliance 4. Many high and duplicate trade costs for inputs and outputs. Going forward, farmers urged government to sign bilateral trade agreements with strategic partners, improve trade-related infrastructure, and address supply-side constraints and have Policy coherence and predictability. Farmers also pledged to work with government.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 07:19:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015