EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT: AGRIC GRADUATES UP IN ARMS OVER UNEMPLOYMENT

There is no way we can wait for five years without being employed yet people who graduated after us are secretly being recruited by the Ministry of Agriculture, a group of unemployed graduates in the agriculture sector have charged.

In a statement made available to The Scoop by group representative Phinias Mweemba, the graduates said their engagements with Minister of Agriculture Reuben Phiri Mtolo and his Permanent Secretary (Technical Services) Green Mbozi Green Mbozi have so far not yielded any tangible results.

They alleged that the Ministry of Agriculture was secretly employing some of their colleagues who graduated recently while most of them, who graduated over five years ago, were told that there was an employment freeze in the ministry.

The group has now warned that if the current state of affairs continued, they will not stop at anything in making their grievances known by the higher office.

Here is a full statement exclusively released to The Scoop by Mr. Mweemba:

THESE ARE PERTINENT ISSUES WHICH WE FEEL GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND THE MINISTRY OF LIVESTOCK  & FISHERIES NEED TO ADDRESS AS A MATTER OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

We are not a political party we are just a group of unemployed agriculture graduates across the country who have come together to air our concerns on the way recruitments in the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock are done as we feel if the government addresses these pertinent issues then our concerns will be a thing of the past. We are not doing this for ourselves alone but for the country at large.      

According to Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, the current extension officer to farmer ratio is 1 extension officer to 400 farmers (1:400) whereas of Zambia today, one extension officer is able to serve over 1500 farmers (1:1500) in some areas and we believe this is affecting most farmers who are unable to receive modern agriculture information on time through extension services. We are not saying that it’s the responsibility of the government to employ us all but we believe we are equally important as we contribute to the food security of the country.

Last recruitment in the Ministry of Agriculture/Livestock and Fisheries took place over 10 years ago and what we hear are replacements which are also done secretly. Does it mean that agriculture is no longer a priority for every successful government that comes into power?

Diversifying the agriculture sector has been a talk for all the successive governments but in terms of actualization, we believe nothing much has been done .As the government is thinking about recruiting teachers or health workers they should not forget that we exist and are also equally important where food security of the country is concerned.

Most extension officers are made to cover very large camps to provide extension services to farmers due to shortage of staff. When we say we want employment in agriculture sector, we don’t mean extension officers only but all departments in totality because they are interdependent.

There is a lot of talking that “we” agriculture professionals should form cooperatives as we are perceived as being lazy but away from the truth is one thing that you need to understand is that we don’t stay in the same area as agriculture professionals and we have been trying to see how we can make the issue of forming cooperatives work.

If you say joining already existing cooperatives within our communities it’s a story that needs to be debated because most of these cooperatives have been in existence for more than 10 years but there are no economic activities happening as most of them are just waiting to get FISP.

Most cooperatives in Zambia were formed on the premise of acquiring Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) that’s why to date there are no farmers who have graduated since the inception of FISP. We do not say cooperatives are not good investments. They are, but can only work out for those who stay within the same community with similar interests and goals.

After a peaceful protest on 14^th March 2022 by over 100 agriculture graduates and students, the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Rueben Mtolo Phiri said employment in agriculture was not budgeted for in 2022 national budget but  we heard of recruitment of 800 officers plus the 271 positions which cabinet approved recently, the year is coming to an end without seeing any advert.

In additional to that, when being addressed by the Permanent Secretary Technical Service Mr. Green Mbozi and Director Human Resource, we were told that there is a job freeze for over 1000+ positions in Ministry of Agriculture alone not knowing about Fisheries & Livestock and if cabinet approves then positions will be surely advertised like what Ministry of Health and Education are doing as they were in the process of decentralizing the Ministries which never happened to date. We hear people being given appointment letters week in week out and the sad part is that it’s those who just completed recently who are being employed while most of us who completed our studies over 5 years ago are left in suspense.

Our republican president has been advocating for an open door policy in his government in view of this, we wrote a letter to the PS Ministry of Agriculture on 6th October, 2023 and also another letter to Lusaka District Commissioner on 30th October, 2023 where we requested for an appointment in order for us to raise our concerns but both appointments proved futile as no response was given to date.

We don’t know anyone at Mulungushi House and the sad part is one of our members was told off by one of your officers that aren’t you tired of bringing your application letters? We are tired of burning your papers. We thought it’s an “equal opportunity for all” but not with the current happenings. Imagine if any of your children was in our shoes, were you going to be happy? Are you happy with the current status in your ministry?

We genuinely want to contribute to the development of our country as agriculturists but one of the things that affect us as youths in most cases is lack of productive resources such as land, capital, access to good market information in general and others therefore we feel we have been neglected for so long.

Which brings us to the concerns or questions our members raised as noted below based on a consensus across the country.

1. We have seen other Ministries such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education advertise for recruitments in their respective Ministries. What system is the Ministry of Agriculture/Livestock & Fisheries using when it comes to recruitments or replacements?
2. When applying, people drop their papers for recruitment at Mulungushi House Ministry of Agriculture. And then when addressed by the PS last time in March 2022 during a peaceful protest, he said that applications should be dropped through the respective districts as they receive recommendations from the same districts for replacements and when we visit the districts, we are told take your papers to Mulungushi House at the Ministry of Agriculture because they are the employer not us hear. What is the right procedure to use when applying for employment under the Ministry of Agriculture?
3. How long do names stay in the computer database? What qualifications do they consider for one to be entered into the database or system since we have been applying or taking application letters for years? In addition to this, how many times is a person supposed to apply for employment at the ministry in a given period, say in a year since jobs are not usually advertised?
4. The Ministry of Agriculture this year on 14th January announced that the government was going to recruit 800 extension workers. When is the recruitment of 800 Extension Officers in the ministry going to take place since there is no advert up to date and the year is almost coming to an end?

• Why is it that when it comes to replacements or recruitment, the government mostly considers those with craft certificate levels in General agriculture in relation to those with Diplomas and Degrees?
• Last time Prime TV televises on the news where the Angolan Government engaged the western province minister that they require the services of agriculturists, health workers and teachers. What is the Government position on this matter?
• Is there a deliberate policy by the government to link agriculture graduates to institutions such as state farms (ZNS, Zambia Prisons, etc.) or engage private institutions such as private commercial farmers or perhaps other countries to enable them acquire the much needed experience since the current labour market demands many years work experience for a recent graduate? This can also help recent graduates gain much needed experience while raising capital to start their own business or be fit to be employed anywhere as the labour market demands.
• Is there a deliberate policy by the government either under the ministry of agriculture or youths and arts to support recent agriculture graduates who want to venture into farming with productive resources such as land, capital, etc. to ensure they succeed in their goals bearing in mind that it’s not everyone who can be employed by the government?
• What plans does the Ministry of Agriculture have for agricultural graduates in general as the number of unemployed graduates continues increasing every year on the job market without hope as they feel being neglected by the government?

QUESTIONS RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF ZAMBIA (A.I.Z)

We have never been against any government  law but we believe there are a lot of lapses on how information is being disseminated by Agriculture Institute of Zambia (AIZ) because we feel as stakeholders we are not fully engaged where this organization is concerned which brings a lot of speculations whether this really exists or not. We want to support the organization as ours but information hasn’t been fully disseminated accordingly as a result we feel they will face some resistance where registration and licensing are concerns.

1. We kindly request the full explanation of Agricultural Institute of Zambia (A.I.Z) practicing licensing and the direct benefits of being a member
2. Considering that there is less or no sensitization concerning the Agricultural Institute of Zambia licensing especially in remote areas where they have not even heard about this organization, will there be an extension after the grace period because most of the graduates know nothing about this institution? Also what measures are put in place by the institution to insure information concerning licensing is reached across the country because a lot of people know nothing about this institution?

It’s our sincere hope and prayer that this message will reach our Republican President Mr. Hakainde Hichilema to know that we also exist and we genuinely want to contribute to the development of our country. We are not here to fight anyone.

We just want to see these ministries conduct free and fair recruitment by advertising like what the Ministries of Health and Education are doing as compared to the current status quo where people are being recruited secretly because we believe this is a bleeding ground for bribery and corruption.

 We wish the New Dawn government all the very best as they run the affairs of our country and also as they deliberate on our concerns as agriculturists across the country.

Thank you.

Phinias Mweemba

Representative

Unemployed Agriculture Graduates