Govt working towards equipping farmers – Lubinda

Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda

Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda says government is working towards equipping farmers with new farming methods such as climate resilient agriculture, smart agriculture among others.

Mr. Lubinda notes that 90% of Zambian producers depend on rain fed agriculture and have been used to a particular pattern of precipitation and that when there is a shift in the rainfall patterns, they are affected thus the need for them to shift from depending on rain fed agriculture.

Mr. Lubinda however, states that the challenge is that farmers are still skeptical about shifting to new farming methods even when they have proven that conservation farming works.

He adds that government with cooperating partners is also investing in water capturing and water conservation, adding that the next step is the delivery of water from dams and ponds to the farmland.

Mr. Lubinda stresses that it is not just delivering water, but delivering water in an efficient manner.

He further states that they are also finding ways of training farmers to become more conservative in the utilization of water so that they find ways of going into drip irrigation so that they only use the amount of water the plant is in need of instead of wasting water.