Small Scale Farmers call govermenet to addresses their obstacles

Zambian Small Scale Farmers  have called on government to address numerous challenges they are facing.

Speaking on behalf of other Small Scale Farmers this Morning at a High Level Policy Forum at Pamodzi Hotel Mrs. Grace Tepula called on government to tackle obstacles such as the poor road network which she explained that it leads to lack of access to markets for agricultural products.

Mrs. Tepula, a farmer from the Copperbelt Province also lamented that their agricultural products fail to compete favourably with imported products as they are usually subsidized by  their country of origin.

"Look, for instance home grown potatoes are more expensive than the imported ones. The reason is simple, those imported potatoes are subsidised  by the country of origin. Now, this situation disadvantages a local small scale farmer like myself'", she said.

She has since appealed to government to formulate deliberate policy that will promote local agricultural products.

 

And speaking at the same occasion Agriculture Minister Wilbur Simusa assured stake holders that his government is serious in addressing various challenges been encountered by the agriculture sector.

Mr. Simusa explained that government has increased budgetary allocation in the area of improving the road infrastructure.

Action Aid Zambia, Platform for Social Protection and ONE are among other organizations that sponsored this morning’s High Level Policy Forum whose theme was Changing the way we do agriculture in Zambia

UNDP SAYS ZAMBIA AMONG COUNTRIES THAT SUFFER SEVERE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

03.06.2014

 

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) echoes that Zambia and many other Southern Africa Countries are facing severe impact of climate Change despite their minimal contributions towards carbon emissions.

Climate Change advisor for UNDP in Zambia Excellent Hachileka explained to Desire Media Concepts  that there is need for the country  to find ways to minimize the negative impacts of Climate Change.

Mr. Hachileka said that Zambia should improve the capacity by developing measures in various sectors of the economy that will address the negative impact of climate change.

“Climate Change affects everyone , globally, and the impacts vary depending where you are. Unfortunately, for Zambia and mostly  Southern African Countries the impacts are more  severe  than other parts of the World  though  their contributions in terms of green house gases are minimal”, Mr. Hachileka said.

Mr. Hachileka suggested that there is need for Zambia and other countries to adopt appropriate technologies and policies to reduce the adverse effects of Climate Change

Zambia l on Thursday 29^th May 2014 held a high level meeting on Climate Change Resilience which was attended by District Commissioners, Town Clerks and Council Secretaries across the country.

Zambia is currently implementing Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) in the Kafue and Barotse Basins.

COMMUNITY RADIO ESSENTIAL IN COMMUNICATION INFORMATION ON WEATHER

22.05.2014

A Zambian Scientist has identified Community Radio as an important partner in communicating essential weather related information to the public.

Dr. Joseph Kanyanga explained to Desire Media Concept that community media is closer to people and can translate information in local languages which can easily be understood by communities.

Dr. Kanyanga who is an assistant Director at the Zambia Meteorological Department and is involved in forecasting and research has since called called for increased number of community radio stations in districts across the country.

He explained that doing so will help people in the communities receive vital information on the weather hence allow them to plan their activities accordingly.

Amidst the challenges of Climate Change, Zambia has not been spared from the shift of weather patterns.

And this situation calls for relevant systems in place in order for people to access reliable information so as to plan their activities.

ZAMBIA METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT CRITICAL IN MAKING FARMERS MAKE NECESSARY DECISIONS

21.05.2014

The Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD) says it is an essential institution in disseminating relevant Weather and Climate change related information to farmers in the country.

ZMD Assistant Director Dr. Joseph Katongo Kanyanga explained to Desire Media Concepts   that his department has been critical specifically in the area of giving timely rainfall pattern information to farmers in order for them to make necessary decisions.

Meanwhile Dr. Kanyanga has disclosed that the current meteorological technology been used is up to date.

He however explained that the technology lacks modernization due to lack of funding.

Dr. Kanyanga also revealed that the meteorological station network currently does not cover all Districts in the country hence compromising accuracy in giving weather reports in some areas.

The Zambia Meteorological Assistant Director Dr. Joseph Kanyanga was speaking to our environmental reporter Maybin Katungulu in an exclusive interview on Tuesday 20th May 2014.