MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE
- Musa Silumesii
- 17 Jan, 2024
Climate change has adversely affected the performance of the agriculture sector in Zambia.
The most pronounced manifestations of climate change are; changes in rainfall pattern, leading to floods and more frequent droughts and dry spells, delayed onset of the rain season and increased incidences of pests and diseases.
The impacts of climate change have resulted in low crop yields and food insecurity. To mitigate these effects, In its 2022-2026 strategic plan, Ministry of Agriculture will enhance adaptive research, promote climate smart Agriculture and develop and promote the adoption of climate resilient technologies and practices.
The agriculture sector continues to provide livelihoods to more than 70 percent of Zambia’s population.
The strategic plan however indicates that, the sector growth has continued growing at a lower rate than the annual national population growth rate of 2.8 percent, in spite of it being the mainstay of the larger population.
As a result, the incomes of households that are dependent on this sector have been declining.
In addition, the sector has been constrained by low productivity, limited mechanization, inadequate agriculture infrastructure, skills gap, inadequate research and development, limited access to affordable finance, inadequate specialized staff and dependence on rainfall.
The Agricultural sector has been identified as one of the drivers in the economic transformation agenda.
In the short to medium term, the Ministry of Agriculture is pursuing programmes that will promote sustainable agriculture development and improvement of the livelihoods of vulnerable agricultural households.
The programmes to be implemented include promotion of agricultural diversification and commercialization, increased production and productivity, agriculture risk management including climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable utilization of the resource base, agro-processing and value addition, agriculture research and innovations, facilitation of partnerships with agricultural households to promote wealth creation and increase exports.
The Strategic Plan therefore outlines all the programmes that will help the Ministry in contributing to the 8NDP development outcomes.
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