Maravi

Chizyuka calls for more funding to agriculture

Chizyuka calls for more funding to agriculture
By Joan Chirwa
Friday May 04, 2007 [04:00]

AGRICULTURE and co-operatives permanent secretary Richard Chizyuka has emphasised the need for increased funding towards agricultural production in the country. Chizyuka said the proposed 10 per cent budgetary allocation towards agricultural development among African governments should target productive areas.

Zambia and other African countries agreed to the Maputo commitment to allocate at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to the agriculture sector.

And early this year during the Food Summit in Abuja, African Ministers of Agriculture recommended the formalisation of the Maputo commitment to allocate at least 10 per cent of national budget to agriculture and rural development by 2008 in their focus to eradicate poverty by 2030.

Zambia this year apportioned 8.8 per cent of the K12 trillion budget towards agriculture development, a jump from about 5.5 per cent allocated the previous year.

“We are looking forward to a time when the 10 per cent budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector would support productivity at different levels,” Chizyuka said.

“This will definitely be a wonderful thing for Zambia, unlike the present scenario where most of the money meant for agriculture goes towards crop marketing. For now, we are only moving in nominal terms but in real terms, we are still below the requirement.”

Chizyuka also said the Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP) was a good component which needed serious support.

Last week, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC) intensified their efforts to compel African countries to allocate at least 10 per cent of their budgets to agriculture.

The two regional bodies (ECA and AUC) indicated that they would use their convening power to ‘prick’ the conscience of African policy makers on the promises made by their leaders, so that the commitments on allocations towards agriculture were taken seriously.

Labels: AGRICULTURE

posted by MrK @ 2:34 PM