Zambia announces cost-cutting as harvests fail

Zambia has declared the 2023/24 agriculture season drought an emergency following a prolonged dry spell caused by the El Niño. Government is also calling for co-operating partners to come to the country’s aid for food while appealing to debt creditors to accelerate debt restructuring to shift resources towards food security and economic realignment.

President Hakainde Hichilema said that of the 2,2 million hectares of planted maize crop, a total 1,1 million hectares had been affected by the drought in about 84 of Zambia’s 116 districts. This threatened thousands of farmers with food insecurity following crop failure due to the lack of sustained rainfall.

In a national radio and television address to the nation, Hichilema said the turn of events necessitated resorting to drastic cost-saving measures. He directed all food agencies to mop up grains for storage in strategic reserves and ensure social services were maintained for vulnerable households to avert hunger.

The food agencies and other players had been tasked to undertake community food sales to ensure food was available to all at affordable prices.

The emergency drought disaster initiative is being done in accordance with the Disaster Management and Mitigation laws to help reduce the impact of the drought compounded by El Niño.

The drought is further expected to drastically affect power generation because of reduced water levels, creating a deficit of 450-500MW this year. This will prompt the government to import enough energy to keep the economy running, including mining.

Hichilema noted that the drought, coming in the aftermath of COVID-19 and cholera, compounded by the dry spells, was the worst case experienced by the country so far and affected the majority of households as many relied on maize as their staple food.

The government has in collaboration with various farmers and the private sector undertaken to grow winter maize using both irrigated and rain-fed grain to complement the affected crops. Commercial and smallholder farmers with the capacity to irrigate are urged to replant maize and other crops.

The government has pledged to realign the national budget to accommodate resources that will be mobilised to ensure enough food is secured. It said that scaling down travel for government officials was among the cost-saving measures to divert funds into securing food and energy contingency initiatives.

Hichilema reiterated the government’s desire to allow various well-wishers to contribute food to cope with the unforeseen challenges that the country faced.

ABOUT 84 OF ZAMBIA’S 116 DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED BY THE DROUGHT