Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Government says it is alarming the nation to suggest that the country will experience hunger and starvation next year, when it has made adequate provisions for farmers to produce food.
Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda in a statement made available to QFM News says it is further unfounded to suggest that the agricultural sector is headed for doom, when there is clear evidence of progressive and consecutive good yields in the staple foods and other crops being registered, steady increase in livestock production and massive investment currently going on in the fisheries sub sector.
He adds that contrary to insinuations by some people that programmes being implemented by government are ill-conceived and meant to kill the agriculture sector, government has placed the agricultural sector as a priority area to drive the economic development of the nation.
Mr Lubinda says government has continued to increase investment and funding to the agricultural sector in order to transform agriculture through commercialization, increased production and productivity, wide diversification in crops, livestock and fisheries, promotion of value addition and increased agricultural exports.
He states that it is not true to suggest that the majority of farmers have been left out of the Farmer Input Support Programme, when in fact the kind of support and the number of farmers benefiting from the Farmer Input Support Programme has increased with the introduction of the electronic voucher system.
Mr Lubinda adds that in line with the agricultural diversification policy,government is this season providing inputs in the form of seed and fertilizer for a variety of crops to 759,000 farmers through the conventional FISP.