He wrote:
Zambia has over 42 million hectares of arable land according to the Ministry of Agriculture, yet less than 15 percent is under cultivation. With irrigation still limited and vast fertile areas lying idle, our national output remains far below what our land is capable of producing. This underutilisation weakens food security, limits export opportunities, and keeps thousands of farmers trapped in low productivity cycles.
At the same time, our farmers face persistent structural challenges. Programmes like the Farmer Input Support Programme absorb billions of kwacha in public funding every year, yet many farmers still struggle to transition into fully commercial operations. Storage facilities, including those of the Food Reserve Agency, remain limited compared to the volume of crops produced, resulting in high losses and wasted potential. Such bottlenecks continue to constrain the agricultural sector and keep many of our farmers trapped in poverty.
The CF will make agriculture a top national priority and turn it into a source of jobs, exports, and growth. First, we will reform the Farmer Input Support Programme so that it rewards results. Farmers will receive support for up to three years, and those who use it well will get access to irrigation, machinery, and guidance from extension officers. Cooperatives that meet clear performance targets will also receive dedicated support. This approach ensures help goes to farmers who use it effectively, cutting waste and increasing production.
In the long term, we will expand irrigation by building Zambia’s first National Irrigation Grid, aiming to increase irrigated land from 6 percent to at least 20 percent within ten years. This will be done through partnerships with commercial farmers, extending canals near the Kafue Flats, and supporting smallholder solar irrigation. Irrigation is what turned countries like Ethiopia, Morocco, and Egypt into food secure nations, and Zambia is just as capable.
The CF will help farmers sell high demand export crops like avocados, macadamia, citrus, paprika, soya, beef and dairy through out-grower partnerships. To increase their earnings, we will create 12 Agro-Processing Parks along major roads and power corridors. These parks will be responsible for tasks such as processing crops, making oils, drying and packaging fruit, processing beef, and producing blended fertiliser.
All of this will be funded through better managed mineral revenues, recovered arrears identified by the Auditor General, and private sector co-investments, starting with a K2 billion Agricultural Transformation Fund. This fund will provide affordable loans to help farmers invest in inputs, irrigation, machinery and processing.
Zambia can become the food basket of the region, supplying the DRC, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and even Middle Eastern markets. Agriculture can contribute up to 30 percent of GDP and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for our people. We have the land, we have the water, we have the people. What we need now is good leadership, and the CF will provide it.
Have a great weekend!
Harry Kalaba,Citizens First