Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture has implored farmers to not only concentrate on producing crops but also embrace value addition if they are to transition into emerging and large scale farmers. Director – Agribusiness and Marketing Mwendalubi Moono Msoka says small scale farmers are key players in the value addition chain and more effort is needed to ensure value addition to their products for a high return.
Speaking in New Delhi yesterday after attending the just-ended World Food India 2024 Conference, Ms. Msoka noted that India had done a lot on processing and that while small scale Zambian farmers had concentrated much on production, there was a need to pay particular attention to value addition if they were to grow. She noted that the Zambian Government had placed a high premium on value addition through initiatives such as the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Programme (CATSP) which was amplified by the pillar on nutrition and food security as well as processing. “Our key takeaway as agribusiness practitioners from the World Food India 2024 Conference is that our colleagues have concentrated on adding value to the crops they produce while we have been concentrating on production.
“This conference resonates with what we are trying to do as Zambians to add value to whatever we produce and this is why under CATSP, we have seven pillars and among them, there is nutrition and food security as well as processing,” Ms. Msoka said. She said her ministry had recognised the small scale farmers as part of the value addition chain and that aggregation alliances were key in the sector.
“This is where you bring on board all the players such as farmers, producers, off-takers. We would like to see linkages from small scale farmers to emerging and commercial farmers as well as aggregators so that the whole value chain is connected and the Government is creating an enabling environment for agribusiness and processing,” she said.
And Ministry of Agriculture Chief Food and Nutrition Officer Karen Chenda Mukuka expressed concern that most of the food processed locally may not be nutrition sensitive.
Ms. Mukuka said there was a need to have different crops blended to produce a particular product as doing so enhanced the nutrition value of the final product. She further called on Zambians to increase their propensity to consuming local products to support local farmers.
She also challenged farmers to grow drought resistant crops such as sorghum, millet, and cassava in the wake of unpredictable rainfall patterns. “Crops like millet, sorghum and cassava are drought resistant. Looking at the drought situation in Zambia, we need to start promoting drought resistant and low input crops which do not need a lot of fertilisers or other agricultural inputs,” she said.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s High Commissioner to India H.E Mr. Percy Chanda said India had a lot to offer in the agriculture sector hence the need for the Ministry of Agriculture to engage more with various stakeholders in India though the Mission.
Mr. Chanda said India was the hub of mechanization and value addition technology which could easily be transferred to help small scale farmers enhance their productivity in Zambia, hence the need to take practical steps to achieve this.
He said the Zambia High Commission had done a lot in linking various stakeholders with relevant authorities in Zambia and what remained was the actualisation of such engagements for the benefit of the country.
