Limulunga District Agricultural Coordinator, Pius says the drought that has hit Zambia and some neighboring countries has also facilitated the need for farmers to learn more on crop survival amidst climate change.
Mr. Maambo says farmers need to embrace adaptation and explore opportunities for growth as it is key to agriculture success as climate change seems to have come to stay.
Speaking in when he officiated at this year’s District Agriculture show under the theme: ‘‘creating a competitive future ”, he said that the theme for this year’s annual show is timely as it is in line with the drought just experienced in the recent farming season.
“We need to promote irrigation and other strategies to ensure food security for households from January to December. We can’t rely on the use of buckets to irrigate our field, so at the show grounds, people will be enlightened on new technology and irrigation kits such as the ‘rain gun’,” he said.
Mr. Maambo urged people to attend the show in big numbers to witness what farmers will exhibit from what they will harvest as well as various cooperatives and the business communities who will be in full swing.
Some farmers said they were excited to attend this year’s show, stating that it was time to try new ways of farming as the recent drought was a bitter pill to swallow.
One of the farmers Irene Ndombo, who lamented how she lost money in the recent farming season due to the prolonged dry spell, suggested that government should also distribute seed on time so that they plant early.
Meanwhile, Mukelabai Sitengi said this year’s agriculture and commercial show would have been interesting because more farmers would have harvested well.
He however, encouraged his fellow farmers to never lose hope but prepare early and use drought resistant crops.
Every year, farmers from various wards of Limulunga district travel long kilometers to showcase their produce at the district agriculture show, a platform that also brings various businesses to one place as entertainers amuse the show attendees.
