Luanshya Council scoops Agric Show First Prize
By Gideon Thole
LUANSHYA Municipal Council has scooped the Best Institutional Exhibitor Award prize at the ongoing Luanshya District Agriculture Show which opened its gates to the public at the weekend.
The local authority, which participated in the annual three-day Show, beat other contenders in the Best Institutional Exhibitors category, the Technical Vocational Training Centre (TVTC), which earned itself the fourth position, Zanaco who emerged third and the Ministry of Education who won the second prize.
A total of 18 corporate exhibitors and more than 60 agriculture cooperatives participated in the show, which was officially opened by the acting Luanshya District Commissioner (DC)Daniel Mukosha, who read the speech on behalf of Copperbelt Province Minister Boman Lusambo. The show’s theme is, adding value – the home grown solution.
Deputy Mayor Golden Mulenga and Town Clerk Moses Mwelwa and chief officers received the trophy and certificate on behalf of the local authority from the guest of Honour during the Award giving ceremony, the show held at Mikonfwa stadium.
Mr Lusambo urged cooperatives to be innovative and come up with new ideas which would see the country sustain its agriculture sector increase its production of not only maize but also other cash crops which could see the agriculture sectors’ contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) drastically increase.
The Copperbelt Minister said small and medium scale farmers have a crucial role to play in Government’s quest to diversify the country’s economy from copper mining dependence to agriculture.
He added that the government was determined to support as many Copperbelt based small-scale farmers as possible as way of encouraging ex-miners to take up farming as a source of not only food but also their income as the copper resources continue to diminish.
And speaking at the same function Luanshya Mayor Nathan Chanda expressed hope that diversifying the economy from mining to farming was no longer a farfetched dream for Luanshya town.
‘’ Our town now boasts of having a total of 3,900 registered agriculture related cooperatives and 15,900 registered farmers. The total number of households involved in agriculture activities at various levels is estimated to be over 17,000,” the Mayor said in a speech read for him by Deputy Mayor Golden Mulenga.
He, however, said Luanshya needs to do more despite recording substantial progress as far as the agriculture sector development was concerned.
The Mayor appeal to farmers and various agriculture related industries and businesses to team up and form cooperatives focusing on the best way to add value and seek home grown solutions to various challenges being faced by the agriculture sector.
He disclosed that Luanshya Municipal Council has embarked on a
deliberate policy of seeing to it that suitable pieces of land are set aside for farming activities as new dwelling areas are being planned.
He added that the Council has also started an a programme of routine road maintenance in all farming areas as a way of ensuring that all crops produced in Luanshya in the 2016-2017 farming season reach the market and averting crop wastage.
Earlier the Guest of honour and the Mayor toured the exhibitors, who show cased their farm produce, farming technology advancement equipment, various services and products among others.
Luanshya Town Clerk Moses Mwelwa, District Agriculture coordinator Mishake Jere, District Show Society chairperson Lewis Sianyandyabantu, Ward Councillors, agro marketing firms representatives, seed companies representatives and some Luanshya based commercial banks managers, were among the notables who attended the official opening of the District Agriculture Show.