SPEED UP DISTRIBUTION OF FARMING INPUTS

Dear Editor,

WE are in the planting season once again as many places in Zambia have started receiving rains.

The meteorological department has predicted that the country is expected to receive good rainfall across the country.

Given this state of affair, the country is expected to record another bumper harvest, reciprocating the 2016/2017 farming season.

For the farming community to achieve the objective of recording the bumper harvest, there is need for the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture to speed up the distribution of farming inputs such as seeds, chemicals, fertilisers to mention but a few.

The speedy distribution of farming inputs will by and large, enhance good crop yield during the 2017/2018 farming season.

The above measure is important because Zambia is slowly but surely shifting from the mining sector to the agriculture sector.

Agriculture if properly harnessed can bring in the much needed foreign exchange for the country. Ultimately, this will contribute to the economic growth of our country.

The early distribution of farming inputs is the only way to go in the quest to record the bumper harvest and boost the agriculture sector.

Moreover, it goes without saying that agriculture is now business and it is no longer the preserve of the old people.

This is because even young people can venture into agriculture and make money.

All said and done, agribusiness is now the mainstay of Zambia's economy.

Hence, the need to promote it by providing good incentives to this sector and also to distribute the farming inputs as early as possible.

ELEMIYA PHIRI, Lusaka.