By KENNEDY MUPESENI –

THE Green Environ Watch has called for the strengthening of cooperatives to be used as vehicles in achieving diversification of the economy.
Last year, President Edgar Lungu realigned the Ministry of Agriculture by transferring the functions of cooperatives to the Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry in order to revamp the cooperative movement in the country.
Green Watch chief executive officer Abel Musumali said strengthening of cooperatives especially in the agriculture sector would help expand and diversify the economy.
“For us to survive in our economic situation, we need to have cooperatives which are actively involved in coffee and soya beans production, packaging and distribution among others,” Mr Musumali said.
Mr Musumali also called for economic decentralisation where industries could operate at the grass root levels (districts).
He said doing so would not only industrialise remote districts but also create massive employment.
Mr Musumali said value addition was the first point in creating employment opportunities in any country world over.
He said the low commodity prices on the international market should necessitate increased production and export of various agriculture products to offset the impact.
“Without value addition, it is difficult to participate effectively in the export market because for example in some countries like South Africa, you cannot export groundnuts without removing aflatoxine and that can only be done by encouraging value addition to groundnuts,” Mr Musumali said.
He said it would be difficult to remove poverty if the country did not invest heavily in agriculture production.