By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –
THE Government is next month expected to launch the Agriculture Policy covering the period 2016-2021 which will form part of the revised National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP).
About US$2.730 billion was required for the implementation of the NAIP of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) over the next five years, from 2014 to 2018.
Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda said the implementation of the NAIP’s activities which are aimed at increasing agricultural productivity was on course.
Mr Lubinda said in an interview in Lusaka that some funds have been set aside by the Government and other partners for execution of the agricultural plan.
He said that financial resources to meet the cost of implementing the NAIP would come from the Government allocation, cooperating partners and other stakeholders in the sector.
Mr Lubinda said Cabinet had approved the revision of the Agricultural Policy covering the period 2016-2021 and would soon be launched.
This policy will form part of the revised NAIP which among other issues aims at accelerating agricultural production and ultimately eradicating poverty.
“We are on course with NAIP and only last week March 7, 2016 during Cabinet meeting we got an approval for the revised Agriculture Policy and the team in the ministry is just finalising that in two weeks time we shall be launching the Agriculture Policy for 2016-2021…,” Mr Lubinda said.
He said the policy covers issues of poverty especially by the producers of food and lack of employment generation for the youths in the agriculture sector.
He said a lot of effort would be put in to address the issues of lack of mechanisation because it was critical to increasing agricultural productivity in the country which was currently low.
The programme aims at increasing productivity through research, irrigation and as well as support infrastructures such as roads, bridges and among others.
The broad programmes for implementation under CAADP in Zambia include agricultural productivity, sustainable land and water management, agricultural investment promotion, food and nutrition security and research and extension enhancement.
CAADP aims at achieving and sustaining a higher path of economic growth through agriculture-led development on the African continent.