PMRC Press Statement - Africa Freedom Day 2022

Africa Day is commemorated annually in honour of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on 25th May 1963, the precursor to the African Union (AU). The theme for 2022 Africa Freedom day is “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African continent: Strengthening Agro-Food Systems, Health and Social Protection Systems for the Acceleration of Human, Social and Economic Capital Development.” The 2022 theme is pursuant to the AU 2063 Agenda goals on healthy and well-nourished citizens and this is a good opportunity for continued advocacy to ensure gains made over the years in eliminating malnutrition and all its forms are not reversed.

Zambia considers food security, social protection and health as the top of its development agenda and to this end agriculture and human development feature as one of the priority aspects of its economic transformation programme. Government is cognizant of the importance of socio-economic transformation for improved livelihoods, health and nutrition, and it has spelt out strategies for achieving these milestones. Agriculture is one of the key sectors that will drive the country’s economic development agenda, anchored on the country’s vast natural resources comprising land, water, favourable climate and labour. Zambia has a total land area of 75 million hectares, of which 58% is classified as medium to high potential for agricultural production and this places the country far ahead of most countries in terms of potential to meet its own food needs as well as contribute to the regional and continental food basket. The knock-on effects are human, social and economic capital development for the country through local and foreign exchange earnings from expanded agricultural trade.

The Second National Agriculture Policy seeks to attain sustainable food and nutrition security at national level. It seeks to contribute to the profitability of the agricultural enterprise, job creation, increased income generation, and poverty reduction as well as the increased contribution of the agricultural sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is an important commitment for Zambia as a member state of the AU when viewed against the theme for 2022 because of the already committed efforts to improve food security and the broader goal of fostering socio-economic transformation. The policy is anchored on guiding principles, which include the right to adequate and nutritious food, Government as a facilitator of private sector agriculture, cognizance of land tenure systems, agricultural diversification, cooperatives as a vehicle for agricultural growth and promotion of agriculture as a business.

In the past years, the agriculture sector has been focused on maize production but it has been a long-held aspiration that diversification will mitigate against seasonal shocks when rainfall is poor and drought-prone crops are affected. Other crops have since taken centre stage with soya beans, wheat, sunflower and avocado gaining momentum. Notable strides have also been made to shift the focus to other agricultural activities such as the promotion of fish farming through the aquaculture skills training programme. Other commendable strides include zero-rating of selected agricultural equipment and accessories. Through cooperatives, it is anticipated that small-scale farmers will be able to acquire equipment to ease their farming activities. Opportunities exist for all stakeholders - regional communities, civil society organisations, the private sector and development partners to secure commitments and investments in nutrition. The Government is thus urged to continue with a strong political commitment to promoting food security.

In recent times there have been several threats to food security, most notable being the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The means of livelihood have been threatened by climate change and its impact and to mitigate this, Government has instituted several responses, one of which is the promotion of climate smart agriculture technologies and practices.

Social protection services were able to meet needs at household level during the more intense phases of the COVID 19 pandemic and this will continue to be a key mechanism for cushioning the most vulnerable in society. The Government, with support from its development partners, is running several programmes such as the School Feeding Programme, Scale-Up Nutrition, and Sustainable Food Systems Promotion, all aimed at promoting food security at household and national levels. While there has been tremendous progress over the years in addressing malnutrition, admittedly more can be done to improve food security, especially for children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Livelihood support such as the food security packs is an important service for the most vulnerable but as the country moves further into the actualization of grassroots participation in food production, these will evolve into emergency responses as opposed to routine services. To assure food security at all levels, starting from rural areas, comprehensive rural development mechanisms must be identified to encourage participation by rural communities in crop, livestock and fisheries subsectors. The removal of bottlenecks to this participation by all will go a long way in opening up further avenues to food security. The Government is therefore urged to expedite rolling out programmes that enable this through the National Development Plans (NDPs).

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