By KETRA KALUNGA

The Agricultural sector has evolved from the time Zambia got its independence to date.

In the last 59 years, farming in Zambia has gone through a cycle of reforms from promoting crop diversification, sustainability, competitiveness, to encouraging private sector participation.

Currently, the country is promoting mechanized and smart agriculture and adopting farming methods that are resilient to climate change.

President Hakainde Hichilema says mechanization in farming is fundamental to the transformation of Zambia’s agriculture, improving farm productivity and enhancing the country’s food security.

Stakeholders echo President Hichilema’s statement saying mechanized farming is the way to go as the country celebrates it’s 60 years of independence to ensure increased production and productivity as well as sustainability of the sector and alternately, economic growth.

Agricultural Expert Erick Mwenda says it is very key for the country to develop new ways of farming such as mechanized and smart farming that embraces technology.

Mr Mwenda author of a book “Be a Farmer, Be a Millionaire” and Founder of Tomato Growers Network Zambia says mechanized farming will enable the country to reduce reliance on rain fed farming and focus on drilling of boreholes for irrigation.

He says private sector participation in promoting mechanized farming is encouraged.

“We have seen a number of companies coming on board to provide farming equipment such as trackers and irrigation sprayers to enable farmers increase productivity,” he says

Mr Mwenda says agriculture is now going digital and this has improved data collection and enhanced production and productivity.

He explains that digital transformation in the agricultural sector is critical in enhancing farming activities in the country to drive economic growth.

Mr Mwenda says drones for example are poised to play an increasingly transformative role in the future of agriculture because of their ability to provide real-time data, enable precision agriculture, and automate tasks.

He says drones have proven to be beneficial in providing mapping and crop spraying for precision application among other services.

He says the use of this technology will significantly enhance productivity, profitability, and sustainability across the industry.

“Although they are still expensive, the long term benefits are crucial to Zambia’s economy,” he says.

He says this will lead to the country embracing other technologies of farming such as hydroponic farming which is a new trend of farming.

Mr Mwenda says timely investment in renewable energy in agriculture is crucial for the country.

He says this will become a key strategy to unlock the declining food suppliers caused by several factors which include drought, floods and unpredictable weather conditions.

Mr Mwenda cautions that as the country promotes mechanization farming and prioritizing infrastructure development, it should work on changing the mindset of farmers.

He explains that the mindset of a Zambian farmer is not built to be a business mentality, hence the need to build capacity which is a special vehicle to propel agricultural development in the country.

Another Agricultural Expert Kelvin Kamayoyo says the country has under the United Party for National Development (UPND) seen promotion of sustainability in the agricultural sector and ensuring accelerated growth of the sector.

Mr Kamoyoyo says this is being done through the promotion of irrigation farming and water harvesting techniques among other modern methods of farming.

He says the UNPD leadership is also empowering citizens wanting to venture into farming through the provision of loan facilities under the Agriculture Credit Window and the Constitution Development Fund (CDF).

“We are seeing good will from cooperating partners supplementing Government efforts in ensuring a sustainable agricultural sector,” he says.

Mr Kamayoyo adds that there is also significant emphasis on combating climate change which is a major threat to the growth of the sector.

These are one of the key issues which the New Dawn Government should be given credit for, he says.

Mr Kamayoyo says the country should now begin to set targets in terms of the tonnes that it should produce for crops such as maize, wheat, soya beans so that farmers are motivated to increase production.

Buy-Zed Founder Evans Ngoma adds that the UPND leadership is making strides in empowering small scale farmers with mechanized farming to increase productivity and ensure food security.

Mr Ngoma says empowering small scale farmers through mechanization will enable them to transition to large scale farmers.

He urges the Government to ensure that farmers are paid upon delivery of crops to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).

Mr Ngoma says this is the only way the Government will enable the growth of the agricultural sector which is one of the key economic growth sectors.

He is optimistic that with the strong political will shown by the New Dawn administration, the sector is headed for a boost.

To ensure growth of the agricultural sector through increased production and productivity for enhanced food security, the Government has in partnership with the United Nations Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the National Agricultural Mechanization Strategy (NAMS) 2024-2028.

The strategy promotes efficiency, productivity, and sustainability among small-scale farming practices within Zambia and is set to be revolutionary for the sector.

President Hichilema in a speech delivered by Vice President Mutale VK Nalumango during the launch announced some short-term and long-term measures that the government will undertake to address the devastating effects of the drought.

The Head of State identified mechanization as one of the long-term actions for increased productivity by increasing the provision of soft agricultural loans to farmers to access farm machinery.

The President says it is only through agricultural transformation that hunger will end and improve nutrition while accelerating economic growth for the country.