ACTIONAID SALUTES HH FOR DECLARING DROUGHT A DISASTER
ACTIONAID Zambia has hailed President Hakainde Hichilema and the Government for declaring the current prolonged drought a national disaster and an emergency.
In a statement, Action Aid Zambia Interim Country Director Jovina Newanzake said the declaration is timely and a direct response to a reality caused by climate change-induced disasters.
Ms Newanzake said the absence of rain will result in low crop production, particularly maize, and further strain the economic wellbeing and food security of the vulnerable communities.
“Since the start of 2023 El Nino has devastated the agriculture sector and affected over one million farmers, with 90 percent being smallscale farmers,” Ms Newanzake said.
She said the declaration by the President calls for action to alleviate the loss of lives due to hunger.
Meanwhile, ActionAid has observed the absence of adequate early warning systems that would have prevented the huge losses incurred by farmers especially in the southern part of the country due to drought.
Ms Newanzake noted that having a strong warning system would have prepared the farmers with regards to the kind of crops they would have planted to prevent crop failure and loss of financial resources.
“There is an urgent need for investment in early warning systems. The government must increase allocation of resources to early warning systems to the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, in particular the Meteorological Department to prevent losses incurred during the El Nino and better prepare the farmers against future natural calamities. The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit should be proactive,” Ms Newanzake said.
She said the El Nino is a lesson learnt and calls for reflection on the need to re-look at the conventional farming practices.
“This calls for more investment in Agroecology to respond to climate change. The current El Nino is not the first, neither will it be the last, hence the urgency for adoption of agroecology as the conventional way of farming considering climate change,” Ms Newanzake said.
Over one million hectares of crops have been destroyed due to drought while 84 of the 116 districts in the country have been affected.