PF lacks understanding of the Agric sector – HH

United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema says the late distribution of farming inputs by the government clearly spells out the adverse hunger situation in the coming year, 2017.

In a statement, Mr. Hichilema says the PF has failed to deliver farming inputs at the prescribed time because they lack understanding of the Agriculture sector.

Hakainde Hichilema

He says the late delivery of farming inputs means the country will have lower maize yields next year, and in turn reduce the chances of the country being the food basket of the Southern African region.

Mr. Hichilema says it’s shocking that despite this exercise being budgeted for, the PF government has failed to meet the farmers’ expectations, but has instead disappointed them by distributing the maize seed very late when the planting season is almost over in some geographical areas.

He adds that the current FISP programme needs to be well streamlined and structured in a way that it would effectively assist the country’s small and vulnerable farmers.

Mr. Hichilema states that the Patriotic Front’s agenda towards the welfare of the country’s agriculture sector is highly questionable and cannot go by without being attributed to poor leadership.

He has further stated that the PF government has vividly shown that it does not care about the agriculture sector and the peasant farmers, as they have proved this through the late delivery of the farming inputs.