By JAMES KUNDA –
ZAMBIA and Germany will next week sign a joint declaration of intent on cooperation in the fields of food and agriculture.
Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda and his German counterpart Christian Schmidt are expected to sign the agreement on the sidelines of the eighth Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), which
commences in Berlin today.
Mr Lubinda, in the company of senior Ministry staff, is also expected to attend the fifth AGCO Africa summit commencing in Berlin next Monday.
This was contained in a statement released by first secretary for press and public relations at the Zambian embassy in Berlin, Yvonne Shibemba.
“The joint declaration of intent to be signed on Monday, January 18, 2016, is a continuation of the commitment to the Germany-Zambian Agricultural Knowledge Training Centre (AKTC) and a further step with a view to promoting climate smart agriculture in the field of agro-forestry,” Ms Shibemba said.
She said Mr Lubinda would be among other Agriculture ministers from more than 80 countries that will convene for a closed-door session in the Weltsaal of the federal foreign office during the summit.
After the meeting, a final communiqué representing the common position of the ministers would be incorporated into the on-going international discourse on agricultural policy.
Mr Lubinda and Mr Schmidt would later participate in a panel discussion at the AGCO summit under the topic ‘Rising to the challenge setting policy frameworks to promote sustainable agriculture enterprise’.
“The AGCO, which will be held under the theme ‘Agribusiness in Africa–inclusive and sustainable growth’, will bring together more than 250 farmers, agribusiness leaders, financiers, former heads of
state and other innovators with an eye on Africa,” she said.
Mr Lubinda was also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Czechoslovakian Agriculture Minister Marian Jurečka and his Polish counterpart Krzyzstof Juriel.