Farming crisis looms

A CRISIS is looming in the agriculture sector because of delayed inputs coupled with lack of irrigation systems for about 75 percent farmers, Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) head of Communications Calvin Kaleyi has warned.

Mr Kaleyi warned that more than 75 percent of farmers in the country do not have irrigation systems and as such the late release of farming inputs will definitely result in a crisis in the agriculture sector in the 2017/2018 farming season.

He said the looming crisis in the agriculture sector was the making of the Ministry of Agriculture because, they have delayed to make money available for inputs.

He said it was very risky for government to release money a month into the planting window.

“The situation we find ourselves in is the ministry’s own making, because we advised the ministry to ensure that by August or September latest, the e-voucher could have been rolled out but that did not happen, ”Mr Kaleyi said.

He said farmers are supposed to plant in the next two weeks otherwise there was going to be a big challenge in the agriculture sector in 2018.

Mr Kaleyi said the union had been advising government over proper timing in making inputs available to farmers but the Ministry of Agriculture had yearly made similar mistakes.

He said government should be sensitive with the agriculture sector as the country depended on it to feed its people.