By BUUMBA CHIMBULUSMALL-SCALE irrigation agriculture is important for sustainable food production in Zambia and should therefore to be considered as part of the overall package to building resilient systems amid Covid-19.This calls for increased investment and national budget allocations towards the development and promotion of small-scale irrigation agriculture backed by direct rural infrastructure development such as roads, electricity, and stable organised markets, among others.This is according to the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD)-Trade and Development Researcher, Emmanuel Muma.Mr Muma said a CTPD research on irrigation agriculture and small-scale famers’ productivity, showed that Zambia had a huge potential for irrigation agriculture.“While irrigation can possibly boost agriculture production yields by at least 50 percent, Zambia’s food crops are grown almost exclusively using rain fed methods by small scale farmers, majority of whom are in rural areas and farm less than two hectares of land.“Small scale farmers have very little infrastructure for water collection and lack […]
THINK-TANK CALLS FOR SUSTAINABLE IRRIGATION TO BOOST AGRICULTURE
