Govt committed to support rural women – Veep
By JOHN KOMBE
GOVERNMENT says it is committed to support rural women, stating that their contribution to social and economic development cannot be overlooked.
Vice President, Mutale Nalumango made the observation in a speech read on her behalf by Local Government and Rural Development minister, Garry Nkombo, during the commemoration of the International Day of the Rural Woman held in Chongwe. The event was held under the theme “rural women cultivating food for all.”
She said that rural women in Zambia have continued to show their resilience in various sectors such as agriculture and protection of natural resources and that rural women play a critical role in food production for national and food security.
Ms Nalumango said that it was for this reason that the government was creating deliberate programs to support the rural woman.
She said that this will help to accelerate the involvement of girls and women in development and that the government would roll out various empowerment programs to empower the women who were agents of transformation in various sectors.
The Vice President stressed that rural women were a key stakeholder in the preservation of natural resources which was an important component of sustainable development.
She said that the rural woman must not be neglected if sustainable development would be a reality.
She therefore assured the rural women that the government would continue to support them because it recognizes the role that they play at both household and national food level.
And Chongwe mayor, Christopher Habeenzu thanked the government for attaching great importance to women empowerment.
He said that empowering women would further enable them to accelerate development among the neglected communities. He said that the rural women were the most neglected and as such must be prioritized if their contribution will be enhanced.
He said that women participation at different levels of governance must be recognized and appreciated because they were custodians of the moral fiber of society.
Meanwhile, OMNIA Fertilizer emergent farmers agronomist, Phidelis Mubagwe announced that his company would sponsor one women cooperative from Chongwe with free soil and leaf laboratory testing. He said that this was part of the company’s recognition of the efforts that the rural women had continued to make in agricultural production.
