The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has charged that winter maize farming in Zambia is unattainable due to the prevailing weather conditions.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times -ZBT, ZNFU Manager Communication, Media and Public Relations Service’s, Elias Banda said that winter maize is unattainable in Zambia because it takes a lot of time to grow and requires a lot of water.
Banda said that unlike advocating for the production of winter maize, the government should consider giving irrigation support to farmers to grow and harvest early maize so that after the harvest of early maize farmers can also grow normal rain fed maize so that the Country can have two harvests in a year.
He noted that it is the two harvests in a year that will increase the Country’s food production.
He further noted that the government should provide support for winter irrigation farming to wheat farmers who are able to grow in winter.
He further revealed that ZNFU currently has no program for winter maize farming.
“As ZNFU we don’t have a program for winter maize and secondly, we hear that the government is giving farming inputs to farmers for winter maize. So our view is that winter maize farming is unattainable in this Country because of the weather. Winter maize farming uses a lot of water and the maize takes a long time to grow. This is official and this is what we told the President at state house when the farmers met with the President,” he said.
“Our thinking is that we should do early maize farming which starts from September, October and November and produce the maize in these three months and after producing, October, November and December we plant the normal maize. Government should give irrigation schemes and support to farmers so that they grow and harvest early maize so that after the rain comes, they grow normall maize so that we have two harvests in a year. If we do that all our problems will be sorted out.So our proposal is that let the irrigation and the energy be given to wheat farmers who are able to grow in winter,” said Banda.
