Choma Central Member of Parliament Cornelius Mweetwa has challenged the Patriotic Front government to quickly declare the 2012-2013 farming season a national disaster.
Mr. Mweetwa who is also United Party for National Development(UPND)Deputy Spokesperson has observed that the current statistics of the expected yield for the farming season indicate that there is going to be an inevitable hunger breaks out in the country.
Mr. Mweetwa noted that this farming season’s expected poor yield is mainly caused by erratic rainfall experienced in some parts of the country and the delayed distribution of farming inputs by the government.
He urged the PF government to heed advice from the opposition political parties in the country on important national issues such as the need for an early distribution of farming inputs to farmers to avoid a situation as will be experienced this farming season.
He was speaking in an interview with Qfm
Hunger in Zambia…too bad
we have enough stokes of maize , the only challenge will be transportation
@big king where is that maize @?? m/meal shortages are all over the country & government has banned m/meal exportation which is affecting the country on Forex.
PF are just big talkers. This is the worst government Zambia has had since independence. Zambia will be a wreck by the time this cabal is kicked out.
@Exhaust Blown Diffuser, the gentleman @big king is in RSA, so may not appreciate the situation on the ground.
NOW WHAT EVEN IF GOVT DECLARE A DISASTER? WILL IT BRING FOOD ON THE TABLE? If YOU DONT HAVE SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM DONT OPEN YOUR MOUTH ANYHOW.YOU ARE JUST MAKING YOURSELVES IRRELEVANT.NO POLITICIAN WILL ASK THE RAINS TO FALL OR WILL PROMISE THAT WHEN WE MAKE GOVT THERE WILL BE NO DRAUGHT.NO WONDER YOU OPPOSITION ARE LOSING PARLEY SEATS EVERY DAY.WHETHER YOU MAKE MOUNTAINS OF FERTILIZER IF THE RAINS ARE ERRATIC NOTHING CAN HAPPEN..VIVA DANIEL MUNKOMBWE A TRUTHFUL VETERAN POLITIAN.
The climate is changing globally, not just in Zambia – we probably cannot change this phenomenon with current technology. Businesses are evolving because of climate changes and so should we. I know aka bwali kasuma sana, and this is our staple food, but there are alternatives and perhaps we should explore other avenues. One of our biggest problems in Zambia has been a dependency on a few economic goods (namely maize and copper)… we have to diversify, this is natural evolution! C’mon guys!!
Btw…Why did this website give me a flag that I did not choose??
A bad harvest this year will be good for Zambia, consecutive good harvests are not helping the farmers revenues due to lower prices of maize. The market forces of supply and demand will determine the price this year. Last years bumper harvest should cover the short fall.
@Constable, when countries declares a Disaster or Emergency it helps in the mobilization of resources to prevent a crisis. Government may have to release money outside the budget in this case to import half a million tonnes of maize. You do not wait to see pictures of starving Zambians before you act. So Mr Constable this is what it means.
yes its a disaster..!they should confirm they have failed..
What do you expect from people who are government to eat & not service?
You chaps don’t know what you are talking about. These politicians are blowing things out of proportion. Zambia is not facing any disaster. We have enough maize stocks in the country and we are again expecting around 2 million tons of maize this year. I work in the agriculture and I can assure you that we have enough maize. Don’t just politicise without facts.
@Wise Man, then why are there shortages? You are in Agriculture? @Sinzala, global warming must have been absent when MMD were in power. How did they manage the bumper harvests. I am not sure I have heard of there being an El Nino during the time that pf has been ruling. So tell us something else. Farmers were promised 15 bags instead of the 4 that RB had started giving the farmers, which was actually down from 8 during LPM’s(mhsrip) time. Yakanga chabe nchito imwe bantu.
UPND picks up first prize in Zambia for alarmist views, day- in day- out, and Mweetwa is the spin-doctor supremo!
Mweetwa dont open your mouth any how. The crop forecasting survey (CFS) results are not yet out. Wait for the crop forecasting survey results, thats only when Zambians are going to know whether the country will experience food shortage or not in this year 2013. By 1 st may 2013 the CFS results will be out. So in the meanwhile let us talk about other issues .
Peace and Prosperity to Mother Zambia.
@ Constable international organisations come in to help only after a Government declares a disaster. Some of us have worked in relief organisations and I can assure you that there is very little response in case of hunger unless the Government declares a disaster. Please understand the environment in which you operate before you show your ignorance.
@ tell it like it is – please have a look at the weather reports in the past 7 months. The unusual downfalls and the recent invasion of armyworms. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s happening to our climate . To give you an even bigger picture, there is currently already a global shortage of wine and water! To add more to this, there are several recent predictions of copper prices going down, the only commodity we can attribute Zambia’s recent economic growth to (I know cos I work in finance)
Now, do the maths…
Someone mentioned that without solutions we should not complain. The gentleman in this article should not be in politics, let alone in power as he would not know what to do with it if he got it. We need to diversify! More initiatives like Zambikes! Tourism, SOLAR…
@Tell it like it is – The shortages are artificial. I have been around the country and I can tell you that there is maize in the country-side in the sheds. Plus what we’ll produce we are not going to go hungry. The fact that one or two provinces experienced drought or army worms does not mean that our production will be zero. We have North Western province, Luapula, Northern, Copperbelt and part of Lusaka which hard good rains and the crop did well. The places with drought and army worms will be compensated for by those that had good rains. Don’t just talk from without. Advice your Cornelius Mweetwa tospeak with facts. I know that chap from UNZA he just talks anyhow.
I am wondering how those in the rural areas will be able to buy maize if they have a very poor crop this year from several issues, lack of rain and army worms? They will not have the money even if there is a surplus to sell?
@ Amai Judi – the poor in the rural areas will be faced with the same consequences of poor economic wealth distribution that they have always faced in our beautiful and democratic country (im not being sarcastic)…the United nations have called on all nations to be able to provide a basic standard of sanitation and nutrition for their people and even though Zambia seems to be heading towards the right direction, we are still far from the target (not that we don’t have the money to do so!). We just need more selfless individuals in government or with power to make this happen. We also need more Dambisa Moyos advising goverment!