Musokotwane assures on Government’s preparedness for El Niño
Zambia has enough food reserves to cushion the effects of the impact of the El Niño phenomenon which is expected to ravage most parts of Southern Africa this year, Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has assured.
Dr Musokotwane said the country was adequately prepared to respond to the effects of the anticipated weather conditions, citing the bumper harvests which were recorded in the last two farming seasons.
He said Zambia had sufficient food and assured the nation that the country would not experience hunger.
“We have sufficient food in the country because we have had good harvests in the last two farming seasons. So, we are confident that the country will not experience a hunger situation because of El Niño effects,” Dr Musokotwane said.
Government, he said, was closely monitoring the situation and had put in place measures to ensure that vulnerable households would not be left without food.
He said although the expected El Niño could adversely affect agricultural production in some areas, the country had sufficient food stocks to cushion communities that might experience poor harvests.
Government was particularly concerned about households that could record poor harvests due to inadequate rainfall and would therefore strengthen social protection programmes to assist affected communities, he explained.
Dr Musokotwane said interventions such as the Social Cash Transfer and Cash for Work programmes would be used to support households that might struggle to meet their basic needs.
“We know that there will be challenges in some areas because of El Niño, but we are putting measures in place to make sure that no one dies from hunger,” he said.
The Minister said the Government’s response would focus on ensuring that vulnerable people had access to food and other essential needs throughout the period when the effects of the weather pattern were expected to be felt.
He said the availability of food stocks from previous good farming seasons had given the country an important buffer against possible disruptions to agricultural production.
Dr Musokotwane said the Government would continue assessing the situation and take additional measures where necessary to protect communities that could be affected by the weather conditions.
He said the Government’s priority was to ensure that the anticipated El Niño did not translate into a humanitarian crisis, particularly among households that depended heavily on subsistence farming.
“We are aware of the challenges that El Niño presents, but all is in place. We will continue to respond to the situation and ensure that our people are protected,” Dr Musokotwane said.
