ZAMBIA SHOULD START HARVESTING WATER – ZAMBEEF
Written by Millennium on October 8, 2019
BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
@SunZambia
ZAMBEEF has urged Zambian farmers to invest in water harvesting from rivers and streams before it reaches Zambezi River where it was wasted in the Indian Ocean.
Company chief executive officer, Francis Grogan, said the water from rivers and streams needed to be harvested for farming before it was wasted in the Indian Ocean to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Mr Grogan stressed the need for the farming community to be forward thinking on the adequate and sustainable use of the Zambia’s resources following the adverse effects of climate change.
He was speaking at the 2019 winter maize harvest at Zambeef’s Sinazongwe farm last week.
“To help mitigate climate change, we must invest in water harvesting and irrigation and trap the water that flows in our rivers and streams before it enters the Zambezi River and ends up completely wasted in the Indian Ocean,
“We must harvest this water, grow food, empower people with employment opportunities in crop production and food processing and take advantage of this enormous domestic and DRC market,” Mr Grogan said.
The effects of climate change, he said, were becoming more and more apparent every year that passed and Zambia had not been spared from poor rainfall seen in many parts of the country while other countries in the region had experienced floods.
Mr Grogan said both these climate extremes had resulted in low crop yields in some areas and reduced flow into reservoirs to generate power.
ZAMBEEF was also working closely with local farmers across Zambia to buy home-grown inputs for its production operations.