The Indaba for Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) have observed that there is need to get fully prepared with measures to mitigate the effects of climate change which is affecting the entire world negatively.
IAPRI Executive Director, Chance Kabaghe stated that the emphasis with reference to climate change for 2020 Budget should have been mostly been on Agriculture because technically it is the main economic sector that suffers worst from climate change.
Kabaghe was speaking during the deliberations of the 2020 Agriculture Sector Budget Analysis in Lusaka on 17 October 2019, attended by Zambian Business Times – ZBT.
‘‘This year’s budget was with emphasis on climate change, yes though climate change affects power supply, we have the black out because of climate change, but technically, when you talk about climate change, the main sectors of economy that really suffers is the Agriculture sector. So true the emphasis with reference to climate change for 2020budget should have been on agriculture’’, said Kabaghe.
With information from the Intellectual departments on weather forecast, who have projected that this year there will be good rains, Kabaghe questioned how prepared the nation is, to respond to floods which is also an effect of climate change.
‘‘When you talk about climate change its not only drought, it is also floods, are we ready? How much money have we put in reserve for developing crop varieties, for developing Livestock varieties the breeds that can stand the average of changes in climate’’, he questioned.
Kabaghe said IAPRI wants to see actions on the ground on the much talked about climate change. He said the analysis carried out by the highly qualified analysts contains data collected from various ministries to reflect exactly how much has gone into Agriculture.
And delivering the analysis, IAPRI Research Associate Auckland Kuteya said Agriculture is so important because it is the biggest employer in the rural areas of the country and it is also recognized as one of the key sectors that can drive economic diversification and growth.
Kuteya however said despite this recognition of the importance of the sector to driving the economy, the budget allocations for the 2020 for Agricultural have declined by 25%. He stated that in monetary terms, it has declined from K5.3 billion in 2019 to K3.97 billion in 2020 budget and as a share of the national budget; the decline is from 6.1% in 2019, to 3.7% in 2020.
Kuteya noted that this decline is mainly attributed to more resources being channeled to servicing of the debt burden, which is seen in public spending.
‘‘Another worrying thing is that, the projected K31 billion for more borrowing in the coming year, will end up making the cost of servicing the debt to be even higher, now with these reductions in the allocations to the Agriculture sector, how then can we achieve more with less? There’s need to protect ourselves against climate change, and this can be achieved through increasing productivity and improve the resilient’’, said Kuteya.
The Indaba also pointed out the positives from the 2020 national budget as the specific allocation of funds for construction of dams at Mwomboshi irrigation scheme in Chisamba, Lusitu Irrigation Scheme in Chirundu, Musakashi South Irrigation Scheme in Mufulira and Chiansi Irrigation Scheme in Kafue saying there is need to expand to all provinces and especially areas that are more vulnerable to climate change.
