Minister pledges to turn Zambia into food basket

Zambian Agriculture Minister Ben Kapita has pledged to turn his country into a food basket of the southern African region, The Post reported Tuesday.

Ben Kapita was quoted as pledging to make Zambia the home of agriculture in Africa during his reign as head of one of Zambian key economic sectors.

"When people talk about big agriculture, it must be Zambia they should be referring to. Our country has the potential for growth through the development of the agriculture sector which is one of the key economic industries of the nation," he said.

He said his country has plentiful land, good climate, adequate human resources and good rains. Everything and anything can grow in this country as along as it is put in a correct ecological zone.

Zambia could enlarge its foreign exchange earnings through increased export of maize and other staple food, he said.

Kapita said that his ministry will educate peasant farmers on production techniques to increase yields.

However, he said most the programs could be well implemented once adequate funding is allocated to the ministry.

The government has been allocating 5.8 percent of funds from the national budget to the agriculture sector in the past, but it is far too little, he said.

The minister proposes that the government allocate at least 10 percent of funds to the sector.

Source: Xinhua