PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has revealed that government will push more agriculture investments to Northern, Luapula, Muchinga and North Western provinces because of the abundant water in the provinces.
President Hichilema stated that it seems the climate change issue is here to stay and government is planning for a better tomorrow.
The Head of State disclosed that provinces which experience a good rainfall pattern and have water bodies will be used for massive government agriculture projects to feed the nation.
The President added that solar panels will also be allocated to different water bodies in order for them to pump water for irrigation purposes.
“Northern, Luapula, Muchinga, North Western, there’s still a lot of water. We must irrigate. We will push more agriculture activities to Northern, Luapula where there is a lot of water. Can we take this message to our people, very important,” he said.
He however stated that government will not abandon the drought affected areas but increase support for irrigation farming in drought affected regions such as the Southern Province.
He disclosed that government will allocate funds towards irrigation projects in Southern Province and other drought prone areas in light of the drought which has continued to loom over the country.
“We have not forgotten, we are working on the climate change issue which of course we can’t control humanly but we will work hard to move agriculture activities to the north, Luapula province where there is abundant water.”
“We understand that there should be sustainable agricultural practices particularly in light of the current climatic conditions. We need a proactive approach to ensure that farmers withstand the challenges that climate change has brought on our country,” said President Hichilema.
The Head of State was speaking in Siavonga district to 31 traditional leaders who were in the Simamba chiefdom to attend the Bagande Lwiindi Traditional Ceremony.
And Southern Province Council of Chiefs chairperson Chief Nalubamba of the Ila people of Namwala district called for a caucus for the chiefs to meet with the ministries of Green Economy and Environment and Water Development to discuss how traditional leaders can make their subjects understand the impact of climate change.
“We know that climate change will not go away soon. People are now migrating from Southern Province to other provinces because they don’t know how to deal with this problem that has befallen us,” said Chief Nalubamba.
File pictures for illustration
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, December 8, 2024
