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Zambia: State Nods Increase in Food Security Packs
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
7 July 2008
Posted to the web 7 July 2008
GOVERNMENT has approved the increase of food security packs for viable but vulnerable small scale farmers from 125,000 to 200,000 tonnes to promote food security and strengthen export capacity as the world faces the threat of a food crisis.
Agriculture and Co-operatives Deputy Minister, Daniel Kalenga said in an interview that the Government was working out a supplementary budget to finance the additional 75,000 tonnes that had been approved.
"We want to take advantage of the food crisis in the world and especially in the region to produce more food for export and subsequently create wealth for our farmers," Mr Kalenga said.
He said tender procedures for the distribution of the 125, 000 tonnes that were budgeted for in this year's budget had been done and the distribution would soon start.
The Government launched the food security pack (FSP), which is run by the Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM), to enable viable but vulnerable farmers stand on their own feet and boost food security.
An initial 600,000 beneficiaries, especially women, child-headed households, the disabled, widows and widowers, were targeted in the first three years of the programme from 2001 to 2003.
Since the launch of the programme, thousands of vulnerable farmers had received farming inputs and graduated into purchasing their own requirements.
The World Food Programme (WFP) Zambia office said separately that it was working on a pilot programme aimed at enhancing the purchasing power of its beneficiaries in view of the rising food prices.
WFP country director, Pablo Recalde said in an interview that his organisation would pay money directly to traders and provide vouchers to beneficiaries to use in exchange for food.
Mr Recalde said under the programme dubbed 'Vouchers,' the WFP would pay for commodities such as mealie meal, sugar and cooking oil for its beneficiaries in the areas in which it operates.
"The voucher programme is still in its infancy stage but a lot of progress is being made towards it and we will launch it as soon as it is ready," Mr Recalde said.
Government asked WFP to purchase Zambian-grown commodities as much as possible in order to support the poverty reduction strategy aimed at boosting private agriculture production, especially from small-scale farmers.
"WFP will continue to purchase food commodities in Zambia provided cash donations are forthcoming and adequate food commodities are available in surplus regions of the country," he said.
Mr Recalde said WFP would work towards helping small-scale farmers especially female-headed households by providing, among others, ready market for their produce.
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He said Zambia could benefit significantly if it invested more effectively in the agricultural sector and took advantage of the rising food prices.
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