Challenges in delivering extension services remain visibly difficult, and they present with them a ripple effect of other challenges such as low production and productivity.
Some advocate for the introduction of genetically modified crops as a viable solution to enhance food and nutrition security as an adaptation measusre. But Dr. Cousins Gwanama disagrees with this notion to a significant extent.
Dr. Gwanama is a crop scientist and lecturer at the Copperbelt University of Zambia. While he does not
have particular preference for traditional crops over GMOs, he highlights the fact that crop management and farming practices are more important factors that farmers and extension officers,in particular, must be mindful of.
“We are not short of varieties – we already have high yielding crop varieties. If you’re talking about maize, for example, we have 14-16 tonnes per hectare varieties which some very good farmers even take to 20 tonnes per hectare but; our yields – the national average is less than 2 tonnes per hectare because of all other things associated with production such as crop management issues – planting date, fertilizer issues, the weeding and so forth,” Dr. Gwanama explained.
As such, he believes that even GMO crops would not solve the problem of low production and productivity if crop management is not good enough.
In addition to that, given that 94.6% of crop production forecasted for the 2018/2019 farming season was grown by small-scale farmers, empowerment of extension services is equally critical in improving the crop management among the small-scale farming community.
Dr. Gwanama explained that extension officers need to be equipped with sufficient resources to conduct outreach activities regularly among farmers.
The National Union for Small-scale Farmers of Zambia (NUSFZ) was formed in 2014 with a view to address challenges that are unique to small and emerging farmers. It is premised on 4 main pillars, one of which includes training of farmers in best farming practices and agribusiness.
Petronella Kangwa – the Research and Business Development Officer for the National Union for Small-scale Farmers of Zambia (NUSFZ) – also reiterated the continuous promotion of agricultural diversification. She said that it would also be effective and helpful if the government rolled out 100% e-voucher to catalyze the adoption of agricultural diversification.
“Most farmers in rural areas don’t want to just grow maize. They also want to go into other crop and other farming activities,” Miss Kangwa said.
Though farmers are experts in their own right, they are still eager to learn more and their need for knowledge needs to be met.
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