Take risks to spur agriculture, advises Kwesiga
By Gift Chanda
Tue 22 Oct. 2013, 14:00 CAT
DEVELOPING countries like Zambia should be more willing to take risks that have the potential to spur agriculture productivity, says the African Development Bank.
In an interview, African Development Bank (AfDB) resident representative to Zambia Dr Freddie Kwesiga said Zambia had an opportunity to become a food breadbasket of the region and end poverty among the rising population but that it needed to take risky measures that would revolutionise the agricultural sector.
"Agriculture needs about five things: it needs improving productivity," he said. "The low levels of productivity here do not match our population demand."
Dr Kwesiga also said agriculture needed to be commercialised and stop being treated as a way of life. "You also need to have markets, invest in value addition and most importantly, you need to embrace technology through heavy investments in research and development," Dr Kwesiga added.
He said governments in Africa needed to place agriculture on top of their agenda if poverty, high youth unemployment and underdevelopment were to be addressed.
Dr Kwesiga said there was need to urgently improve infrastructure, expand power generation as well as promote regional integration and technology to enhance agriculture productivity.
He said these were part of the bank's core strategy beyond 2013.
"For 2013 and beyond, we have put science and technology as key. Look, the continent will have another 1 billion people in the next 25 years, what are they going to eat? Are we going to produce at this rate and feed another 25 million Zambians in the next 25 years? No! We must increase productivity," Dr Kwesiga said.
"Maize at its current standing is produced at about 1 tonne per hectare in Zambia but with a family of seven or eight, eating 700 kilogrammes per year, it means that a farmer who is producing 1 tonne is in a deficit of 1.4 tonnes to feed his family."
He said the bank was keen to see that countries like Zambia improve their agriculture productivity."Agriculture is and will remain the cornerstone of the bank's intervention. In countries like Zambia, we are working on irrigation, technology and energy generation as well as supporting agriculture research, and we will continue doing so," said Dr Kwesiga.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, FREDDIE KWESIGA
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It's a development budget - Kwesiga
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sun 14 Oct. 2012, 14:30 CAT
AFRICA Development Bank country representative Freddie Kwesiga has hailed Zambia's 2013 national budget presented last Friday as a development budget saying 'this is the way to go'.
And former Republican vice-president Enoch Kavindele says the 2013 budget is an excellent one and will get the country to a good start.From front page
Meanwhile, Auditor General Anna Chifungula says the 2013 budget is a plus.
In an interview shortly after finance minister Alexander Chikwanda delivered the K32.2 trillion 2013 budget speech at Parliament on Friday afternoon, Dr Kwesiga said he liked the manner Chikwanda presented the core areas of the budget, sector by sector.
"What else did you expect? I think for me this is a development budget," said Dr Kwesiga. "This is the way to go."
He said that the 2013 budget had given very good impetus in areas where the government is spending its resources.
Kavindele said that the PF's maiden budget had gone beyond expectation.
"We are on to a good start. Everything has just gone very correct," said Kavindele.
When asked if the 2013 national budget was indicative of the country's departure from donor dependence, US Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella said he could only comment after studying the document.
"I have to study it," said Ambassador Storella as he walked out of the Parliament building from the VIP gallery where he had been following Chikwanda's budget presentation with other diplomats.
During presentation of the budget in the House, Chikwanda said President Michael Sata had gotten the country to a good start.
"Unlike what we saw in the not so distant past," Chikwanda said, "let us join the President in getting Zambia moving at full-throttle."
Chikwanda said in his concluding remarks that those that stage a claim of leadership need to set a moral benchmark and embrace accommodation and tolerance.
"For the opposite is not an option but a recipe for doom," said Chikwanda as opposition members of parliament shouted: "Doom, Doom."
Kick-starting the parliamentarians' debate on next year's budget, Bangweulu PF member of parliament Chifita Matafwali described it as an antidote.
"It is always joyous to be associated with a momentous occasion," said Matafwali as opposition members of parliament urged him to take it easy.
"Today's event, on this 12th day of October in the year of the Lord 2012 is an historical and indeed momentous day. It is indeed the first PF moulded budget."
Zesco managing director Cyprian Chitundu said that the money the government had directed to the energy sector in the 2013 budget showed that it wants to do things differently.
"The energy sector has lacked investment for a number of years and we are late," Chitundu said. "Kafue Lower Power Station should have been done 18 years ago. Itezhi-tezhi should have been done 10 years ago. Now we are doing these projects."
Chitundu said the country's energy sector could not continue talking about the glory that was created by first Republican president Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
"This government is saying let us do things differently," said Chitundu. "Once we have constant power supply, the cost of doing business will be lower...and we are very happy with the money that has been given to us. What we have to do now is to start performing."
Meanwhile, Chifungula said the 2013 budget was a plus because it was growth-oriented but she insisted that her office had to be given a higher role in ensuring that there was prudent management of resources in view of the fact that K32.2 trillion was a lot of money.
"Even when you look at the way they are going to spend the Euro Bond, they are looking at energy, road and infrastructure," Chifungula said. "There is nowhere where it will go to consumption at all. It is development."
Outlining the manner in which the recently-acquired US$750 million Eurobond would be expended, Chikwanda said US$255 million would go to the energy sector, US$430 million would be spent in the transport and road sector, US$20 million would go to the Development Bank of Zambia DBZ for the small and medium enterprises, US$29 million on human capital on access to finance while US$1.4 million would go to fees and transaction costs among other disbursements.
"No room for speculation," said Chikwanda.
However, Chifungula said with the increased funding that had been allocated to the Anti-Corruption Commission ACC and Drug Enforcement Commission DEC( over K100 billion), these institutions would now have no excuses in acting on her reports.
"These increased funding are pluses. It is long overdue," Chifungula said. "With this kind of money which is coming to spending agencies, there will be need, especially for our office, to take a higher role. K32.2 trillion is a lot of money."
On the government's decision to delegate the Zambia Public Procurement Authority ZPPA from active involvement in public procurement to an overseer and regulatory role, Chifungula said that was also a positive move.
"That is how it is in most countries. The public procurement is supposed to play an oversight role to see that procedures are being followed," said Chifungula. "They will now have more time to carry out inspections in the spending agencies."
Labels: 2013 BUDGET (ZM), ALEXANDER CHIKWANDA, ANNA CHIFUNGULA, BUDGET, ENOCH KAVINDELE, FREDDIE KWESIGA
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African States urged to massively develop their infrastructure
Thursday, April 7, 2011, 7:25
African Development Bank (ADB) has called for a massive infrastructural development on the continent. ADB Resident Representative for Zambia , Freddie Kwesiga says African States Should put in place measures to improve on road and other infrastructure development in order for Africa to have a medium to long term development thereby contribute towards poverty reduction.
Dr. Kwesiga said infrastructure development plays a key role in achieving economic development and fight poverty in Africa.
“ Major areas which needs attentions include transport, Information Communication Technology (ICT), agriculture, and social infrastructure, “ he said.
The 2011 World Bank study indicates that Zambia’s economic performance which has reached 7 percent growth rate needed to make a significant impact on poverty reduction. However, according to ADB representative , the Southern African country’s economy can improve to a middle income country if it invests in infrastructure.
Dr. Kwesiga said this in Lusaka today at the Expert Group Meeting which is reviewing the handbook on Infrastructure Statistics in Africa.
He has further called on donors and members countries to scientifically measure and quantify the contribution of infrastructure towards overall economic development.
He said the bank has started the process of developing an African specific index for measuring the progress towards the development of key infrastructure which is known as the Africa Infrastructure development index.
Labels: AfDB, FREDDIE KWESIGA, INFRASTRUCTURE
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COMMENT - Formalization of the SME sector to this present crop of politicians will only serve to make them an easier mark for the taxman. As long as the MMD protects the mines from taxation, they have no business 'broadening the tax base' by sucking more money out of the economy through taxation of SMEs. They are already contributing more to the economy than the goverment is, and unlike Foreign Direct Investment, they don't expatriate their profits, but spend them in Zambia. So no to 'broadening the tax base' by having more workers pay taxes, until the mines are paying every cent they are owed or are nationalized.
Formalising SMEs will reduce lending rates - AfDB
By Mutale Kapekele
Fri 25 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
THE African Development Bank says formalising the small and medium enterprises will drastically reduce lending rates. According to latest figures, the SME sector boasts 90 per cent of Zambia’s commerce.
In an interview, AfDB resident representative Dr Freddie Kwesiga said
when SMEs, who operate informally, are formalised, the number of people seeking finance will increase which will result in cost sharing that will reduce the rate of lending.
He said with the AfDB general capital increase to US $100 billion for Africa for the next three years, his bank was working towards improving access to money for the private sector and had developed a programme that specifically targeted the SMEs.
“We would like to get the SMEs to formalise through registration and good corporate governance so that they can also contribute meaningfully to the national economy,” said Dr Kwesiga.
AfDB has partnered with the International Trade Center to train counselors and bank lending officers in financial management to provide the service to the SMEs who will benefit from the latter’s credit facility that is being implemented by Zanaco and Investrust banks.
Commenting of the exercise, Zambia Development Agency director for micro and small enterprise division Windu Matoka said the training will improve competitiveness of the SME sector and improve their access to finance.
He said 100 companies stand to benefit from the funding of the AfDB credit facility to the SMEs.
Matoka urged other international organisations to consider developing financial and non financial products in the country.
He said the AfDB project will target women owned or managed groups in tourism, agriculture and agro-processing, construction and micro finance.
“This is exciting to ZDA as the SME sector is a key pillar in facilitating development and it has come at the right time when the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Programme is being implemented,” said Matoka.
Labels: AfDB, FREDDIE KWESIGA, SMEs
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AfDB notes importance of irrigation in doubling yields
By Moses Kuwema
Tue 12 Oct. 2010, 14:00 CAT
IRRIGATION in the agriculture sector is key to doubling yields if it is put in the hands of smallholder producers, African Development Bank (AfDB) resident representative Freddie Kwesiga has observed.
In a statement, Dr Kwesiga stated that raising productivity required that government continues to invest in improved water storage and irrigation as a means of adaptation to climate change.
“Improved crop storage at household, community, regional, national and border points, is perhaps the most important investment that government and the private sector have to undertake in order to safely store the current bumper harvest and the predicted future bumper harvest when Zambia will be able to reach 10 million tonnes to cater to human, livestock feed and value addition,” Dr Kwesiga stated.
He stated that properly targeted economic policies for smallholder farming could raise yields, adding that West Africa had witnessed increases in farm yields and incomes from cereals and root crops.
Dr Kwesiga stated that high dependence on farming on highly unreliable rainfall was risky.
“Zambia irrigates less than five per cent of irrigable land of 1.4million hectares, yet it holds over 40 per cent of water resources in the southern African region. This is an area of growth and competitiveness,” he stated.
He stated that Zambia could easily achieve more than 10 million tonnes per year of maize just by raising its average productivity to about five tonnes per hectare.
Dr Kwesiga also observed the need for Zambia to invest in exploitation of local phosphates and lime deposits for fertiliser and allow for specific blends.
He also emphasized the need for more investments to expand hydro power, solar, bio-fuel, wind and other energy sources, which he noted were very critical especially in the rural areas and neighbouring states.
Dr Kwesiga stated that the Bank’s agriculture sector strategy focuses on building agriculture infrastructure and supporting renewable natural resources management.
He stated that the Bank’s agriculture infrastructure interventions focus on building and rehabilitating rural and community feeder roads that lead to local markets, and on main trunk roads that provide access to national markets.
Dr Kwesiga stated that under the renewable natural resources component, the Bank supports sustainable and resilient agriculture infrastructure in view of climate change, continued scientific research and capacity building.
Labels: AfDB, FREDDIE KWESIGA, IRRIGATION
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