HIVOS calls on President Lungu’s administration to focus on the importance of agricultural biodiversity
HIVOS Southern Africa has called on President Edgar Lungu’s administration to focus on the importance of agricultural biodiversity.
And Hivos Southern Africa has congratulated the people of Zambia for peaceful election that resulted in the election of Edgar Lungu as Zambia’s sixth President.
Hivos is an international organisation that seek new solutions to persistent global issues.
Hivos Southern Africa Regional Sustainable Food Manager William Chilufya in a statement stated that the government can implement policies that are urgently required to move away from the direction of agricultural practises of monocropping to diverse food production.
“President Lungu’s government can turn things around by paying attention to the importance of agricultural biodiversity.
At the same time, households in Zambia have a key role to play by adopting positive behaviours that support diverse food production and consumption. To foster these behaviours leadership around awareness raising and sensitization is needed,” Mr. Chilufya stated.
“We therefore expect our new government to prioritise developing policies that promote the production of a diversity of foods and shift from mono cropping production and consumption.”
Mr. Chilufya stated that Zambia today faces challenges of high rates of malnourishment.
“As Hivos, we are concerned at the state of the country’s food system which has a strong focus on growing a single crop, a practise called mono-cropping of maize. This mono-cropping is eroding ecosystems, crop diversity and regrettably reducing the diversity of foods on our plates,” Mr. Chilufya stated.
“We note that the Zambian government has on average spent 80 per cent of the agricultural budget supporting the production and procurement of maize through the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and output price support through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA). We believe that in addressing nutrition challenges in Zambia, it is important to realize that emphasis has to be placed on the food diversity.”
Mr. Chilufya stated that the agriculture policy in relation to maize production and consumption in Zambia had to be pursued with due consideration to nutrition and development.
He stated that the current focus on maize is disadvantageous to nutrition improvement and the need to promote and support a diversified diet for Zambians.
“Today, in Zambia thousands of children and women suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition, including low birth weight, wasting, stunting, underweight, overweight and multiple micronutrient deficiencies such as vitamin A, iron, zinc, and iodine deficiencies. But this should not be the case,” Mr. Chilufya stated.
“Zambia’s agricultural landscape provides an opportunity of growing a variety of food species. However, some foods are disregarded and pushed into oblivion and extinction by the prevailing food production system.”