LET’S CONSTRUCT DAMS, HARVEST WATER - HH

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has disclosed that commercial farmers will harvest about 146, 000 metric tons of early maize.

And President Hichilema has directed the Zambia Environmental Management Agency and Water Management Authority to quickly approve construction of dams for the country to start harvesting water.

He said the early maturing maize will improve the food security thereby eradicate poverty in the face of the drought which has been declared a national disaster, and has so far devastated six provinces, leaving more that two million people at the risk of famine.

President Hichilema said early maize was the only hope for the country, especially that weather patterns were becoming more unpredictable

Speaking when he launched the harvest of early maize at Sadon Farm in Mkushi yesterday, Mr Hichilema said it was important that farmers took the cultivation of early maize seriously to improve household and the country’s food security.

He said with the ever-changing weather patterns which would affect the country in years to come, farmers needed to adopt irrigation to engage in early maize farming.

He has directed commercial farmers to render support to small-scale farmers so that they could be knowledgeable with irrigation.

“Early maize is very important to us, we can’t underrate it. We don’t need to harvest maize only in July but we need to harvest every March,” President Hichilema said.

And Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri assured farmers the government will provide support through the agriculture credit window to buy irrigation equipment for more maize to be grown.

Zambia National Farmers Union president Jervis Zimba appealed to the Food Reserve Agency to offer good price to farmers who have produced the early maize.

FRA Executive Director Mwansa Chametete said the agency was ready to buy enough maize for national reserves.