Inadequate Agriculture Extension Services Threatening National Food Security
By Balewa Zyuulu
Despite agriculture remaining the key priority sector in the growth and poverty reduction agenda of Zambia and over 60 percent of the population derives its livelihood from it, poor funding towards extension services is threatening the country’s food security.
Apart from the routine difficulties farmers in rural areas face, accessing agricultural extension services are more of a technical and logistical nature.
There is ample evidence that the continued poor funding towards the implementation of the agricultural extension services have completely changed the very fabric of the farming population.
For years, there has been an increase in the farmer population with an increased demand for agricultural extension services without a corresponding increase in the number of extension workers at the field level.
This is despite the government claiming that agriculture is a national priority, but only 2% of the budget goes towards extension services and research.
Cyprian Mulonda is a smallholder farmer in Mansa, Luapula province who now highlights the challenges the farmers are experiencing in accessing adequate agricultural advisory services in the area.
“The extension service officers are too inadequate. They even fail to provide us with advisory services in the area when the need arises because they are required to service too many people at once. Recently we experienced armyworm infestation, we needed their help, however, it was a challenge as they could not visit every farmer.” Mulonda said.
Agricultural technical professional staff union of Zambia, general secretary. Joe Kamutumwa, is now advising the government to prioritize the provision of agriculture extension services as a sure way of ensuring increased agricultural productivity.
Mr Kamutumwa says the government must not only employ more extension workers, but should also invest more resources in ensuring the already existing agricultural extension workers are given periodic refresher training.
Michael Katambo is the minister in charge of Agriculture who admits that the extension worker to farmer ratio falls far below the international recommended standards hence the failure to deliver effective extension services.
Mr Katambo also acknowledges that the rate of addressing the high extension worker turnover has not been adequate hence requesting for treasury authority for his ministry to address these challenges.
And Civil Society for Poverty Reduction program coordinator Chimuka Nachibinga says it is disheartening to note that in its current form, Zambia’s Agricultural Extension Services fail to inspire confidence.
Mr Nachibinga feels If fixed, the agric extension services can play a big role in Zambia’s agriculture in as far as promoting agricultural productivity, increasing food security, increasing incomes, and contributing to the improvement of livelihoods of the poor people most of who are found in the rural areas.
In his 2021 budget presentation, Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu said the government will strengthen extension services and is committed to seeing that all Farmer Input Support Programme beneficiaries adopt climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices.
But without corresponding financial action even if the government introduces new ways of reaching out to the smallholder farmers such as smartphones, only farmers in urban areas can access this information, leaving those in rural areas dis-advantaged.
PHOENIX FM NEWS.
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