STOP RELYING ON MAIZE – REV CHITIBWI

WORLDVIEW Institute Executive Director Reverend Isaac Chitibwi is worried that the dry spell the country is experiencing may affect food security.

Speaking in an interview with The Scoop, Rev Chitibwi said droughts will have a toll on crop production.

“Most of the maize we consume comes from Eastern and Central Province but we have all these subsistence farmers across the country who are supporting to ensure that there is food security and the food basket is enhanced in the country.

“So we need every grain of maize that we can get but with the dry spell like this, we know that food security may be affected. It is imperative for the Government right now to find ways and means which they can source maize,” Rev Chitibwi added.

And Rev Chitibwi said it was about time the country moved away from the reliance on maize in view of dry spells.

“As a country, we need to move away from maize. We have been talking about this for a long time but we need to move away from the reliance on maize. This mind-set we have developed where we think the only food we can eat is nshima is a very bad and retrogressive mind-set,” he said.

He added that it is important if Zambians concentrated on drought resistant crops such sorghum, millet, and cassava.

“This dry spell we are having for four weeks with sorghum and millet is nothing. Sorghum and millet   will pull through and with a bit of rain, it is going to produce. So, we need to diversify as much as possible,” he said.

He has since disclosed that the organization had targeted to plant 1 million trees by the year 2030 under the think green project

“This year alone, we already have over 10, 000 trees. What has delayed the process of planting is that the rain has been bad. As you know, most of the trees are planted in the rainy season between December and February so that they can hold but because the rainfall pattern has not been good, we have not been able to plant but we have,” he said.