ZAMBEZI District Crops Officer under the Ministry of Agriculture, Kelvin Simasiku, has appealed to the Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry to consider including civil servant farmers on the Zambia Agribusiness and Trade Project (ZATP II).

Speaking during a recent meeting with the (ZATP II) in the district, Mr Simasiku noted that there are civil servants who are currently performing well in the Agriculture sector but lack the capacity to grow.

“We have civil servants involved in Agriculture on a small scale but they would love to upscale, why can’t they be considered on the programme as well?” Mr Simasiku questioned.

He added that some civil servants also belong to cooperatives which will be applying for the same matching grants that the government will be giving out on the programme.

“We have SME’s that are civil servants and we have those that belong to these cooperatives so in such environments what would happen,” Mr Simasiku wondered.

In response (ZATP II) Agribusiness Specialist focusing on firms, Wilfred Mufwambi, said although the project is currently not allowing civil servants to participate, discussions are still ongoing to see how best they can make the project a success.

Mr Mufwambi however said businesses can still apply under the Project without the direct involvement of the civil servants.

“If you belong to a cooperative as a civil servant, the cooperative can still apply but your name should not be listed among the members,” Mr Mufwambi said.

He however advised civil servants to take advantage of the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF) being provided by the government to upscale their Agriculture business.