GOVT DIRECTED TO CARRY OUT PRELIMINARY CROP FOCUS

ZAMBIA National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has asked Government to carry out a preliminary crop focus to ascertain the maize the country will have in the 2023/2024 harvest season.

ZNFU president Jarvis Zimba said the suggestion was made during the stakeholders’ meeting which was held recently.

Mr Zimba said the country would only be comfortable once the government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) produce the detailed figures of what was obtaining on the ground.

In an interview, Mr Zimba said as it stands, those stating that the country was food secure without knowing what was obtaining on the ground were shooting themselves on their feet.

He said for now the Zambian people needed to be patient to pave way for the ministry to carry out the exercise which had been imposed on them.

“In order for the country to have information on whether we will have enough maize or not or whatever decision we need to make as stakeholders, we have requested Government to do a preliminary crop focus countrywide so that we can get the figures of what we are going to have as a country.

After that, that is when we can have a position to know the availability of maize we are going to have as a country. In the absence of a preliminary crop focus whoever is talking about national food security it will be guess work.

“Until we get the figures which the ministry is going to produce with ZamStats this is when the country is going to be comfortable and for now I will urge everybody to be patient until the figures are out,” Mr Zimba said.

He said “What we know is that we are ok upto June but we want to know what we are going to have with the new crop.”