By Jeff Kapembwa
ZAMBIA’s hosting of the 4th Mid Year African Union summit hosted in the capital Lusaka last July dubbed: “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent” has instilled a call innovative technologies and become the pivot for sustained food security.
Inspired by resolutions from the Africa’s Heads of States and Governments summits in Equatorial Guinea capital, Malabo since 2003 to date coupled by the African Union meeting’s theme, Zambia wants to bolster production using innovations and become the continent’s food basket.
At the Malabo meetings, one driving resolution as Africa is to jointly identify and prepare bankable projects at the national and regional levels, through the RECs in food and agriculture and to engage in mobilising resources to implement them, and investing in sectors essential for agricultural growth and development.
President Hakainde Hichilema had during the July 17-20 AU mid-year meeting underscored the need for Africa to drive and own an agenda in meeting the aspirations of the 2063 agenda. This is, despite the pervasive disruptions of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
To address climate change and other shocks, urges Africa to encourage innovation in member states and consider signing and ratifying the Africa risk capacity treaty and open up assistance channels in planning, preparing and responding to these shocks in a timely and cost-effective manner and redress food insecurity.
“We need to raise the levels of productivity in agriculture, emphasise on value addition through Agro-processing, accelerate research in agriculture, emphasise on and increase support to rural farmers whose livelihoods mainly depend on agriculture.” he said in his address to delegates while calling for reliable transport connectivity
Zambia’s ministers of livestock and fisheries Makozo Chikote and Agriculture, Reuben Mtolo share a common vision; enhancing and maximizing the technological innovations induced in the country to insulate the country from climate change, COVID 19 and other related calamities that forced economic downturn since 2020.
Zambia’s annual fish deficit averages 87,000 metric tons with the country’s production capacity in excess of 100,000 metric tons (mt), with about 85,000mt from capture fisheries while the aquaculture sector, currently is in its infancy, and contributes around 30,000m
Innovative practices include conservative fish farming to reduce increasing post harvest losses and discourage bad fishing methods through the use of snares. Zambia is encouraging women and children in coastal and inland areas to be active to boost food security.
“I am impressed with the innovation and we have a test to pass on the technology to the rural small scale farmers and increase food security but we need to work with all sector players to demand for the livestock.” Minister Chikote said recently after touring the 94th Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka.
And Agriculture minister Mtolo said Zambia has adopted a ‘smart technological investment’ initiative to bolster food production by setting up agro processing plants in all 107 districts and all 10 provinces to encourage value addition and maximize returns from ‘value added exported products’.
Zambia is encouraged the growing and harvest of tomatoes, pineapples, mangoes, groundnuts, among other products though hampered by lack of agro processing plants in the country resulting in waste-cp0ntrasting the vision of the Africa Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) of enhancing reliable markets for all member states, of which 46 have now ratified the treaty operationalised last year.
On 28 July, President Hichilema commissioned the K130 million (US$810,000) multi fruit processing Kalene Hills Fruit Factory, in north western Zambia. It will process a variety of fruits and other farm produce such as beans, groundnuts and tomatoes using small scale farmers as suppliers ultimately to encourage value addition.
In April 2022, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic for Africa sought to set up a Joint Agro Industrial Park to increase the availability of industrial goods and services for the bilateral market and expand intra- regional trade in manufacturing.
The industrial park to be partially located on each side of the border, will help develop industrialists seeking to acquire ownership and management of the industries. It is hoped to prioritise processing of value chains such as cotton, maize, wheat, rice, soya beans, sugar, livestock (leather and dairy) and horticulture.
The sectors provide extensive linkages with the manufacturing sector particularly in the processed food sub-sector-key to promoting industrial activities for skills development and knowledge in industries strengthen collaboration and bolster networking among policy makers, regulators, industry and academia.
The project is aligned with the COMESA Industrial Strategy, which Member States have adopted and create a globally competitive environment-friendly, diversified industrial sector which is based on innovation and manufacturing as tools for transforming regional resources into sustainable wealth and prosperity for all.
The project seeks to encourage the setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and tap the potential and later used as platforms for regional and sub-regional markets and inputs supply, says Comesa assistant secretary general Dr Kipyego Cheluget.
The African Union is cautious of the effects of food insecurity on the continent and calls for mobilization of massive investments for substantial agricultural production in Africa, says its chair, Macky Sall, also Senegalese President.
“It is urgent that we win the battle for food security to settle an existential question and take up a challenge of dignity for our continent.”
