MUMBWA District has in recent times been transformed into a fast growing town with massive development taking place.
The influx of both commercial and emerging small scale  farmers is enough to suggest the route which the district is taking.
My recent visit to the area in more than 20 years dispelled assertions from individuals that Mumbwa is a rural dwelling town.
The small scale farmers are forming corperatives so as  to make it easy for them to access farming  inputs from the Government under Farm Input Support  Programme ( FISP)
The agriculture activities in the area among the small scale farmers  indicate the seriousness that farmers have of upgrading the standard of living among themselves
The introduction of e-voucher system by the Government to make it efficient  for farmers  to access farming inputs on time is another score by the State  to improve agriculture in the area among the small scale framers.
I finished my secondary education at Mumbwa Secondary School years back and comparing the Mumbwa of yester-year to this period, the difference is visible.
At that time there was only Lacienda hotel but today lodging places are spread across  the town.
The construction industry which provides entrepreneurism to bricklayers,plumbers,electricians is there to see through the construction of personal houses and other infrastructure.
This has also made it possible for people to migrate to this area, giving an opportunity to individuals to run  other businesses’ in Mumbwa.
The vision that the Government has  of diversifying from  copper production to agriculture as the main stay of the economy,  could be seen in becoming a reality when one looks at the  activities taking place in this area.
Mumbwa district which lies in geographic description of the maize belt region has seen farmers both small scale and commercial engage ingrowing maize in the area.
This is seen in the influx of seed maize dealers who offer variety of researched seeds according to the soil and  rainfall pattern.
The demand for maize  in neighboring countries in recent times should be seen as the impetus to encourage both small scale  and commercial farmers  to work  hard because of the yawning market in the region.
Equally the agro industry in the area is growing, small agro dealers are spread in the area, offering support input programmes to small scale farmers.
For this reason, the Government has engaged  agro dealers in the dispensation of inputs to small scale farmers through the e-voucher system.
Entrepreneurship, which is described as free enterprise has gripped
Mumbwa district in the agriculture sector.
Agro dealers have opened outlets in the area and the Government,  through private partnership are now using the agro dealers in farming input support programmes  through the recent introduced e-voucher system.
The late coming of the natural rains has pushed  farmers in the area to turn to growing soya beans as opposed to only growing maize.
This has seen an upswing of soya bean growers in the area.
As a result, some organisations are recruiting youths to purchase maize and soya beans for onward delivering to maize dealers in Lusaka for instant cash.
Hard working small scale farmers in the area are improving their livelihood  by taking their children to school and ensuring that they provide food for their families through  improved cash flow.
The farming business activities in the area have also given rise to various trading businesses where opportunities have opened among entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs have constructed various facilities such as lodges thereby giving an opportunity to individuals to run this service industry.
For comments contact 0950458228 or email
wklpublicatios699@gmail.com