• Government has continued to fund the agricultural sector.
• In the 2021 national budget there was 6.7% increase in budget allocation towards the sector.
• Government is urged to continue providing a conducive environment for increased private sector investment within the sector.

Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) observes that Government has continued funding the agricultural sector despite the tight fiscal space from the ongoing debt repayments.
In a statement availed to Money FM News, Organization Executive Director Bernadette Zulu noted that in this year’s national budget, there is a 6.7% increase in the budget allocation towards the agricultural sector.
Mrs. Zulu observed that the private sector has played a minimal role in financing the sector in form of loans for Greenfield investments, as majority of the lending goes toward financing big commercial farms.
She urged Government to continue providing a conducive environment for increased private sector investment within the sector.
“Agriculture and agribusiness play an important role in the Zambian economy, contributing around 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent years and about 12 percent of national export earnings. Agriculture employs nearly 70 percent of the labor force and remains the main source of income and employment for most of the people living in rural areas.”
“It is for this reason that the Government has over the years endeavored to invest in the agricultural sector through various initiatives such as the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP), reducing customs duty on agricultural equipment and the encouragement of private sector involvement,” Mrs. Zulu noted.
Mrs. Zulu however called for increased funding towards research and development as well as extension services, to enable the country to score in all the indicators of the Enabling Business of Agriculture (EBA) report which recently ranked Zambia number 3 out of 28 countries in Sub Saharan Africa in Agribusiness.
“The improvement in plant protection is essential, as the country grapples with the effects of climate change which has brought about new pests and insects that are destroying crops. This therefore calls for increased funding towards research and development in the sector which will capacitate the research institutions to carry out research and experiments in a timely manner.”
“Lastly, the aspect of food trading is important as the country strives to grow the contribution of the sector to the national GDP. Improvements in food trading include among others, ready markets for agricultural products, food storage, packaging and branding and proper handling of crops after harvest. These aspects of the agricultural sector require improved investment in infrastructure such as roads, agro-processing machines in convenient locations and proper storage facilities,” she said.