Agricultural Technical and Professional Staff Union of Zambia General Secretary, Jestone Ponde has commended the government’s efforts of allocating relief maize to benefit vulnerable communities in Lusaka Province.

 He says this gesture will be able to help families amidst the dry spell in the country.

 Speaking In an interview with ZANIS, Mr Ponde praised the government for the significant step it has taken in aiding families facing food insecurity.

“As the Agricultural Technical and professional staff union of Zambia, we have welcomed the move by the government as it has come at a time when the country is battling with drought,” Mr Ponde said.

 He expressed gratitude for the timely intervention, emphasizing their importance in supporting vulnerable households during challenging times.

Mr Ponde has, however, urged the government to develop sustainable strategies to assist vulnerable communities over a longer period.

“When a family is given a bag of maize, we need to look at how long it’s going to sustain them, of course it will be just for some days or weeks” he said.

 Mr Ponde further emphasized on the need by the government to come up with both long term and short-term measures in addressing food insecurity in the country in case of another drought in future.

“For example, this time around people can be helped with the very early maturing varieties such as maize which they can plant along the streams, after some days when the maize is ready they will be able to harvest,’’ he said.

 He says there is a need for comprehensive approaches that will address food insecurity and provide lasting support to those in need.

 The Government, through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit has allocated 2,632 metric tonnes of relief white maize to Lusaka Province for vulnerable households.