Investing in Agriculture - HH By providing proper support to our farmers we can help them to grow and sell more, and at the same time bring prices down for consumers. We can also stimulate the economy and drive growth and development through targeted investments in the agricultural sector. Though the PF government criticized the MMD on this score, nothing has changed for the better under their leadership. In fact under the PF government, payments to farmers have been delayed and delayed. As a result of this, farmers have been unable to buy inputs in time for the next season. Meanwhile food prices have rocketed and Zambians have gone hungry even while 32% of government bought maize harvest in 2012-2013 went bad. This has led to needless suffering and hardship which could have been avoided with proper management and due attention to the sector, rather than distracted and divided leadership. As President, I pledge to pay farmers on time, reduce the cost of inputs such as fertilizer, and invest in agriculture for improved productivity and diversification. The percentage of GDP spent on agriculture has gone down from 7.2% to 5.8% between 2008 and 2013. This doesn’t make sense to me – by investing more in agriculture we can stimulate the economy, create jobs and bring down food prices. We need to invest in more storage facilities and we need to support the growth of milling facilities across the country. We also need to make a concerted effort to stimulate the growth of related industries, notably processing, and support those suppliers who want to take advantage of our geographical location to export produce to our neighbours in the region. Feeder roads for transportation of crops should be regularly attended to so as to reduce the challenges facing farmers, and again food prices. Zambia needs a long-term plan for agriculture. We have a vision for unlocking its potential. Hakainde Hichilema UPND President
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 07:31:44 +0000
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