‘Lima’ women get new tractor
GOVERNMENT has given a new tractor to the women of Chief Kabanda of Shiwang™andu to help them increase their agricultural production. The new tractor was handed over on Thursday at a ceremony held at Chief Kabanda™s palace by Minister in the office of the V ice President Sylvia Chalikosa on behalf of the Ministry of Gender. Speaking at the handing over ceremony witnessed by Shiwang™andu Member of Parliament who is Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo and Ministry of Gender Permanent Secretary Dr Auxillia Ponga, Ms Chalikosa said the tractor was intended to help the women in Kabanda chiefdom to increase their agricultural production. Ms Chalikosa, who until last Wednesday, was also acting Minister of Gender, said Government was aware that men and women had not been equal partners in development due to their social and cultural orientation which led to disparities in accessing land, finance and other productive resources. She said the vision of Government through the Ministry of Gender was to ensure that women and men participated and complemented each other equally in all development efforts. In realising its vision, Government was promoting the use of mechanised agriculture and value addition to primary agriculture products, she said. She said it was imperative to support women because they contributed 80 per cent of labour at the production stage of agriculture, yet they had limited access to new technologies, loans and markets for them to increase production and yield increased profits. Government wants to relegate the use of the hoe to the museum and replace it with more productive equipment such as tractors. She said that since the project was chiefdombased, Government expected that women cooperatives within the chiefdom would be granted a minimum of 100 hectares for use under the tractor project. She also said the Ministry of Gender was ready to work with cooperatives within the chiefdom to ensure that required equipment was provided, markets were accessible and capital was made available to engage in production and value addition for increased profitability. The cooperatives would also receive support services such as information sharing and continuous training of cooperative members by various stakeholders and cooperating partners to ensure beneficial inclusion of the very poor; women and youth, Ms Chalikosa said.