President Hichilema Aims To Make Country Food Secure

President Hakainde Hichilema has outlined his plans to make the country food secure once again.

Speaking during a pre-recorded statement during the Food Systems Summit at the United Nations earlier this week, the President said that he is working at improving the varieties of crops and livestock within the country, whilst also enhancing animal disease control and irrigation systems in a bid to improve agriculture production.

He added that “We are also working on expanding and improving the provision of agriculture extension services and equipment as well as provide affordable tailored financial products to small-scale farmers.”  

President Hichilema commented that he was confident that these plans would “have a positive impact in guaranteeing food security systems [within Zambia].”

On top of an already challenging situation, with regards to food insecurity within the country, the President’s challenge will be made increasingly hard following on from the adverse impact of COVID-19 within the country. From July to September this year, it was estimated that about 1.18 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity, a figure far too high for a country so rich in land for crops.

Under the previous governemnt, food insecurity was exacerbated by the increasing prices of fertiliser within the country, making crop production an economically challenging task.