'BEYOND MAIZE' THROUGH WOMEN EMPOWERMENT By Natasha Mhango

"Women are key actors within the food system," (Kirk, et al.,September 2018)

Zambia’s agricultural sector is dominated by maize. About two thirds of cropped area is covered by the crop.Furthermore, maize production is largely dependent on rainfall making it vulnerable to changes in the weather patterns.

“Of the 1.5 million smallholders in Zambia, an estimated 89% grew maize in 2015 (CSO, et al.2016). Fewer than 80% of smallholder farmers cultivate three or fewer crops. The practice of crop diversification is still significantly low regardless of the visible effects of climate change and existing poor nutrition levels.

On August 22^nd, Hivos People Limited launched a discussion paper entitled Beyond Maize: Exploring agricultural diversification in Zambia from different perspectives.

'WOMEN FEED THIS COUNTRY' - PROF. LUO By Natasha Mhango

Fisheries & Livestock Minister, Nkandu Luo and; Chilanga MP Maria Langa undertaking a tour of the Department of Fisheries in Chilanga,Lusaka

Every year on Farmers’ Day - August 8th, the Ministry of Agriculture holds an award-giving ceremony to recognize and honor outstanding farmers from the all the provinces of Zambia. Attending the even in her new capacity as Fisheries and Livestock Minister, Nkandu Luo, made it clear tat women and youth were the key to agricultural transformation.

“Women are the people that feed this country,” Professor Luo said.

Her statement is made credible when one takes into consideration that “In Zambia, women constitute 64 percent of the rural population and approximately 80 percent of food producers,”

INCLUSIVE GROWTH -AN AVENUE FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT By Natasha Mhango

Robertson Tembo -Chairperson of the Copperbelt Organic Honey Cooperative which is a beneficiary of one of the ZATP grants 

The recently held Zambia International Trade Fair was conducted under the theme Inclusive Growth through Entrepreneurship. As Africa continues to be a net importer of agricultural products despite the continent possessing around 60% of arable land, one of the most plausible solution is to make agribusiness more inclusive to include the main producers ie. small scale farmers.

However, access to market continues to be a grave challenge for most small scale farmers in Zambia; and yet it is the key with which farmers can unlock the potential of their agricultural investments.

The theme for the 2019 ZITF compels many to question what can be done to enable the growth of agribusiness which is inclusive and creates an environment where access to credit for small scale farmers is also a significant impediment.

Some of the key elements of inclusive growth include:

LIVESTOCK POLICIES SHOULD BE BASED ON EMPIRICAL DATA By Natasha Mhango

Ministry of National Planning Permanent Secretary Mushuma Mulenga
and; Fisheries and Livestock Permanent Secretary Dr. David Shamulenge
during the official dissemination of the census results

The livestock and aquaculture sub-sectors continue to face a number of challenges that are slowing down their growth. In 2017, a report by the Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources that was presented to Parliament, attributed a knowledge gap and consequently low livestock productivity to inadequate research that would enable improved technologies and animal husbandry practices.

 The report acknowledged that the livestock sub-sector was under exploited and yet also a very important part of the agricultural economy. Later in the year, K50 million was disbursed to conduct a livestock and aquaculture census – an exercise that had never been carried out since the 1970s.

This was the first step towards assessing the potential of the livestock and fisheries subsector, respectively,

SALES TAX AND AGRIBUSINESS - YAH OR NAY? By Natasha Mhango

Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe & ZNFU President Jervis

Zimba during a sales tax consultative meeting with agricultural stakeholders

(Picture by:Chileshe Kandeta -Ministry of Finance)

The introduction of sales tax in Zambia is being perceived with various concerns by the business community. The Ministry of Finance has been embarking on sensitization visits with different stakeholders to ensure that the sales tax and its implications are correctly understood.

Last week, the sensitization visit was with agricultural stakeholders predominantly agro dealers and commercial farmer associations. 

In her opening remarks, Minister of Finance, Margaret Mwanakatwe, said that the introduction of sales tax was one effective way to create fiscal space for economic growth. The Minister explained that the kind of sales tax that the government was trying to introduce was one that they refer to as a ‘hybrid sales tax’ in which they have combined the best of value-added tax (VAT) and the best of sales tax.