— Govt. supportive of irrigation farming – Dr Mulenga

Govt. supportive of irrigation farming – Dr Mulenga

 

Chipata, October 2, 2014, ZANIS —-  Government says it supports efforts aimed at promoting irrigation farming in the country.

 

Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chileshe Mulenga says this is due to the role that  irrigation plays in enhancing sustainable economic development.

 

Dr. Mulenga says irrigation farming encourages all year farming activities for farmers thereby increasing their productivity.

 

Speaking at Small Scale Irrigation workshop in Chipata today, Dr. Mulenga said there is need for farmers to start embracing new
technologies such as irrigation in their methods.

He said farmers need to start realizing that farming was  now a business venture that should used to reduce poverty.

 

He however, stated that this can only be achieved if farmers aim at increasing their productivity in different crops.

 

He added that government is also committed to ensuring that the agriculture sector remains viable for it to continue being the
mainstay of the country’s economy.

 

The PS expressed displeasure that 50 years after independence the country’s agriculture sector has not been fully explored.

 

Dr. Mulenga said this is why there is need for government to work together with other partner in improving the industry.

 

The Permanent Secretary  has since challenged Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock staff to quickly identify dams and other structures that can be used for the irrigation program.

He also thanked the Finnish government for providing technical and material support towards the implementation of the project which will
be done in four district of Eastern province, namely Chipata, Chadiza, Lundazi and Petauke.

 

And project Socio-Economist Thomas Simfukwe disclosed that government has invested over 17000 hectares of land for small scale irrigation project in the next two weeks after which it will spread Southern, Eastern, Muchinga and Lusaka provinces, respectively.