Govt to use Farm Blocks to spur economy growth

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says government will use the Farm Block Development Program as a vehicle to grow the national economy in the next ten years.

The Farm Block Development Program is an initiative meant to facilitate agricultural land and rural development and encourage private sector investment for economic growth.

Speaking when he addressed the Indaba Agriculture Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) agriculture sector post budget forum in Lusaka today, Dr Musokotwane says the new dawn administration has allocated modest amounts in the 2022 national budget for farm blocks, adding that there are active engagements with some multinational corporations to source for supplementary funding for the ministry of agriculture to develop potential in the agriculture sector.

He says if farm blocks are effectively implemented,Zambia will attract good investors and start exporting products to other countries unlike the status quo where the country imports more than what it sells on the international market.

And Dr Musokotwane says the government is actively dealing with the problem of excessive debt through discussions with the IMF with the hope of an agreement before 2022 for a programme that will enable the country to discuss with various CREDITORS TO rearrange the nation debt.

Speaking at the same event, Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri says there is need to stop the export of maize because this amounts to the indirect export of jobs to other countries such as the DRC.

And IAPRI Board Chairperson Dr Mick Mwala says government has demonstrated that it has what it takes to put the agriculture sector on the right trajectory again.