Sun, 18 Feb 2018 11:50:43 +0000
By PRINCE CHIBAWAH
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) says Zambians will not be duped by claims that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema understands the agriculture sector better than the ruling party.
In interview yesterday, PF media director, Sunday Chanda said Mr Hichilema and UPND didn’t have a better alternative to PF’s agriculture policy.
“The people of Zambia will not be duped by claims that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema understands the agriculture sector better because it’s common knowledge that he has specialized in livestock and not crop farming such as maize.”
It does not surprise us therefore when UPND fails to grasp PF’s agriculture diversification program. While UPND talks about agriculture in bullet form of their ten (10) point plan, PF has a clear and well documented policy on agriculture.”
He said while there could have been a few slippages with implementation of the e-voucher, the UPND did not have the capacity to tell Zambians how else they could have dealt with the 60,000 ghost farmers who had been removed from the FISP.
“While PF targeted one million farmers as beneficiaries under the E-voucher programme, it has managed to reach 700,000 farmers, the highest farming input support in the country’s history.”
Mr Chanda explained that the ruling party understood that agriculture was the only sector that could assuredly alleviate poverty in the country.
“Agriculture is the future of Zambia. The question PF has asked itself in arriving at its policy to diversify the economy was whether copper could see us through another 54 years? Our answer has been an absolute NO! We have admitted that Copper has brought us where we are but the only sector that assuredly alleviates poverty is agriculture.
Our focus therefore is to grow this industry that is the future of this country. This will not happen overnight.”
Mr Chanda said there were a number of programmes that PF had prioritised under its 2016-2021 election manifesto including Farmer Input Support Programme, agricultural diversification, and promotion of irrigation, among others.
Mr Chanda was responding to claims by the UPND that their leader would address all the challenges facing the agriculture sector once elected as Republican President.
