PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has revealed that government has decided to shift from rain fed type of irrigation to irrigation commercial farming in order to promote resilience to climate change shocks such as drought.
Mr. Hichilema says he has already engaged traditional leaders with chiefdoms around water bodies who have since responded positively to avail land for commercial farming.
The Head of State said this during the National Prayers for the Rains held at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka, under the theme ‘Praying for Good Rains and Harvest’.
Mr Hichilema stated that he is in the process of engaging various stakeholders, to assist government in the implementation of irrigation commercial farming.
The President noted that Zambia is endowed with the majority of waterbodies in the Southern African region, adding that the country should therefore use them to produce food throughout the year.
“We want to change the narrative. There will be no planting month. We will be planting and harvesting every month,” he stressed.
The President has assured that the country will be better positioned to provide energy in the next two years, in case of another drought.
He said this is because government is putting up another 300 megawatts of coal power generation plants.
“We are investing in more Coal Power Stations, what we are calling ‘Clean Coal Technologies. If you go to Maamba now, you won’t even smell any Coal like before. You won’t see any fumes out of that power station,” he said.
Mr Hichilema added that government has set a target of 2000 megawatts of power to be generated using coal alone.
Meanwhile, Zambia Conference for Catholic Bishops Secretary General, Francis Mukosa emphasised the need for Zambians to use the unpredictable rain pattern as an opportunity to explore other farming methods.
Speaking when he delivered a homily, Father Mukosa also cited scripture from the book of Genesis chapter 41 in the Bible, where Joseph foresaw a 7 year drought and God directed him to help the nation store enough food while they still had plenty.
He further advised Zambians to preserve seasonal foods, adding that this would ensure food security not just for the current generation but also the future.
Earlier, in a statement of purpose, Chairperson for the National Day of Prayer Committee Reverend Canon Sihubwa called for a mindset change among Zambians in order for the nation to align with God’s vision.
He noted that in the Bible, nations were afflicted with calamity such as drought for various reasons among them the need to repent or trial to prepare for a greater blessing.
Other petitions during the event included a prayer for a bumper harvest and its management, preservation of water and energy as well as farmers and the farming process.
The prayer points were led by members of the Clergy, notable among them, Chairperson of the Declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation Committee Bishop Billy Mfula and General Secretary for the Council of Churches in Zambia Bishop Emmanuel Chikoya.
