Minister in the Office of the Vice President Sylvia Chalikosa says the dry conditions which have characterised this year’s rainy season are expected to continue in Southern, Western, Lusaka, Central and parts of Eastern province.
Mrs. Chalikosa says the forecast for the next ten days still does not raise any hope and this may worsen the already compromised food security and nutrition situation for most of the agrarian households in the afore-mentioned provinces.
She told Parliament in a Ministerial statement that the current relief distribution will therefore continue, but in an expanded form to bring on board districts that have been affected this current season.
Ms. Chalikosa said the Ministry of Agriculture will soon be in the field to do the crop forecast for 2018/2019 production season while the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit and other stakeholders use this information together with the rainfall performance for the season from ZMD to establish the number of districts that are likely to be food insecure.
She said the DMMU has already started doing a desk top analysis of the situation and will move in the field earlier than the conventional period April or May of each year when we conduct an in-depth vulnerability and needs assessment.
Ms. Chalikosa said the DMMU is also developing concept notes to include cooperating partners since the caseload of food insecure households will significantly increase.
Meanwhile, Ms. Chalikosa said the Northern part of the country which is agro-ecological zone three has on the contrary received above normal rainfall.
She said a number of critical infrastructure such as crossing points have been damaged and some completely washed away.
She however clarified that the dry spell that Zambia is experiencing is a regional problem that started sometime during the mid of January, 2019.
Ms. Chalikosa said other countries that have suffered from the dry spells are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
She said SADC is concerned with the prevailing dry spell and in view of this, a number of meetings have been lined up with the latest being the one which was held in Namibia and another, ongoing in Ethiopia.
And we have opened up exports of our precious commodity knowing my cousins up there are not the very effective of growers to say the least.
Amen
Mean while the same PF have lifted ban on maize smuggling.
Why PF hate Zambians so-much?
Ba HH bakambepo pa nkani yachimanga ati he is bitter.
And you lifted the ban on maize exports, it’s like even within the party you are not on the same page look at what happened with Davies mwila and miles sampa….anyway I don’t expect much from cadres
These foooools are just as stupid as that small tractor in the picture…surely what is that going to used for? Cutting grass
Is this not what HH is trying to advise you against exporting maize?
The left-hand does not know what the right hand is doing
this govt amazes me 2016/2017 season the vehemently refused the grain traders to export excess maize even when it was clear that there will be a good harvest there was excess maize from the bumper harvest and the grain traders didnt v liquidity to buy the maize as they shud v had fast forward 2018/2019 season it is clear we v a failed farming season and the chances of a poor harvest are there for all to see par govt allows for the export of the precious commodity well whatever we got ourselves into .
“Ms. Chalikosa said the Ministry of Agriculture will soon be in the field to do the crop forecast for 2018/2019 production season while the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit and oth..”
When we tell you these guys are absolute empty tins you think it a joke..so why did the lift the export ban?
Crop forecast after lifting the maize export ban, these guys work in dununa reverse gear.
The maize and mealie meal we are exporting is all rotten so we want to get rid of it. Mwaumfwa.