Mon, 29 May 2017 12:08:23 +0000
By SANDRA MACHIMA
AN agricultural training programme targeting mainly women farmers in export production has been initiated to equip them with the necessary skills.
And 400 farmers across the country were expected to benefit from the programme initiated by the Zambia Agriculture and Rural Development Initiative (ZARDI) in partnership with Export Trading Group Zambia.
ZARDI executive director Gilbert Mpanga said the training would start next month in readiness for the 2017/2018 farming season.
Mr Mpanga said the crops selected were soya beans, vegetables, chili, sunflower, sorghum, pigeon peas, tomatoes and carrots, which he said were on the out grower programme for 2017-2018 farming season.
Mr Mpanga said his organization had partnered with the Export Trading Group Zambia to actualise Zambia’s agricultural potential by encouraging farmers to diversify their activities.
He said his organization was on the ground to organize and identify women clubs and youth groups to see how it could help them.
“The nation must be informed that the crops targeted will be made readily available on the market and the scheme is aiming at empowering and motivating local farmers to increase their productivity,” he said.
Mr Mpanga said once local farmers supplied quality products on the market, foreign-owned supermarkets would be buying vegetables from local farmers instead of importing. He said farmers needed more knowledge and sensitization, especially in the wake of intensified efforts to diversify agriculture and grow the economy.
Mr Mpanga called on farmers to vary their choice of crops and consider moving away from the traditional maize and include other options such as vegetables and fruits.
Mr Mpanga said ZARDI has deliberately taken a proactive approach to actualise Zambia’s agricultural potential by encouraging farmers to diversify their operations.
