Lusaka Province Minister, Sheal Mulyata says the government is committed to strengthening collaborations with various stakeholders to empower farmers with knowledge and skills to enable them to respond to natural shocks.
Ms Mulyata says equipping farmers with the right knowledge on how to withstand and mitigate impacts of climate will improve their living conditions and also promote the economic growth of the country.
The Minister was speaking in a speech read on her behalf by Lusaka Province Deputy Permanent Secretary, Alex Mapushi during CitiBank Zambia Limited’s 19th Global Community day at AGCO Future Farms in Chongwe.
She stated that the government has put various measures in place to empower farmers with funds through micro financing agencies such Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) to enable them to purchase irrigation equipment.
She implored farmers in the Province who were most affected by drought to take advantage of such facilities to do irrigation farming during times of drought.
She commended Citi Bank Zambia Limited and AGCO Future Farms for training 50 farmers in Chongwe with skills in climate smart agriculture and mechanised agro economy adding that the training will go a long way in building community resilience towards climate change.
She said the training is a response to President Hakainde Hichilema’s call on various stakeholders to supplement government efforts to respond to the drought which affected most parts of the country during the 2023 – 2024 farming season.
“I wish to commend Citi Bank Zambia Limited, AGCO Future Farms and the Zambia Federation of Cooperatives (ZFC) for responding to the call by President Hakainde Hichilema by coming up with this Initiatives of training farmers in building community resilience towards climate change”, Ms. Mulyata said.
She implored other stakeholders to emulate the three organisations by coming up with programmes that are aimed at responding to national disasters resulting from climate change.
Meanwhile, Citi Bank Zambia Limited Chief Executive Officer, Lowani Chibesakunda farmers are key in enhancing the country’s food systems and preventing food insecurity in the face of climate change.
Ms Lowani added that she is confident that the knowledge acquired by the farmers during the training will enable them to sustain their farming activities in their respective communities.
She also encouraged the bank’s community volunteers to plant trees in their communities to reduce the impacts of climate change on the environment.
And AGCO Future Farms Limited General Manager, Kalongo Chitengi reiterated the company’s commitment to promoting sustainable food systems.
Ms Chitengi stated that the company will also promote the integration of mechanised agro economics in the agriculture sector as this will help farmers to make their farming activities more profitable and increase crop production.
“It is through enhanced mechanised agro economic production that we will be able to produce more food for our households and also prevent food insecurity. This is why we will continue promoting the integration of mechanised agro economy”, Ms Chitengi said.
She encouraged the 50 farmers who have been trained to share the knowledge they have attained from the training programme with their fellow farmers in their local communities.
