• Chama North is one of the leading rice producers in Zambia.
• Farmers are stuck with the rice yet the country is importing rice from Pakistan.
• Government must ensure that the local market is exhausted before allowing any imports.
Chama North Member of Parliament has called on government to promote the Agriculture sector by discouraging importation of rice from other countries.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Yotam Mtayachalo noted that his Constituency is one of the leading rice producers in Zambia but farmers in the area are stuck with their rice due to lack of market, while the country has continued importing the commodity from Pakistan and Taiwan.
Mr. Mtayachalo stated that by encouraging shipment of rice into the country, government is importing poverty and unemployment among Zambians, therefore the need to ensure that the local market is exhausted before allowing any imports.
“We are not promoting the Agriculture sector. For example I come from a constituency which is one of the leading Rice producers in Zambia but you find that the farmers are stuck with the rice but we are busy importing rice from Pakistan, Taiwan at the expense of the local farmers.”
“So by importing a truckload or shipment of rice we are importing poverty and unemployment in the country.” The best is before they allow importation of rice we must ensure that the local market is exhausted,” Mr. Mtayachalo lamented.
He added that continued importation of commodities that can be locally produced is one of the reasons why farmers are not graduating because they do not have the market.
“That is why our farmers are not graduating because we are not helping them they do not have the market,” Mr. Mtayachalo lamented.
Mr. Mtayachalo stressed the need for government to promote the local industry by helping farmers so that they can increase rice production.
“Today when you go to Chama you will find that there is still rice which farmers have because they do not have the market but we are busy importing rice from these other countries because even Nakonde rice is not Zambian rice, it comes from Tanzania. We have rice from Chama, Mongu but we would rather encourage importation of Nakonde rice at the expense of our own rice in Zambia so we are promoting the Tanzanian to grow more rice.”
“Why don’t we promote our local industry by helping those farmers so that they can increase in terms of rice production so that we don’t import rice. But we have this lazier faire attitude as a country where they want to be importing almost everything,” he stated.