By Jeff Kapembwa
Zambia has been iimplored to invest in climate adaptation and mitigation to plug the climate change induced losses and ensure soil fertility is retained for food production and security because the crisis is here for the long haul, the World Bank notes.
Zambia is among the African states and also among the Least Development Countries-adversely affected by the climate change crisis that has dwarfed global economies.
Experts estimate that unless affected authorities-globally take responsibility to mitigate against future losses and earth degradation, more people are at risk of various adversities including death from hunger related diseases.
Experts put the global cost of climate change damage at an estimated cost to reach between $1.7 trillion and $3.1 trillion per year by 2050.
This includes the cost of damage to infrastructure, property, agriculture, and human health. The World Economic Forum, citing a report, estimates climate change as costing the world an average US$16 million per hour, a call for action.
The World Bank, in its latest Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) report for 2024, dubbed: “Unlocking Productivity and Economic Transformation for Better Jobs” warns against complacency in tackling the crisis that threatens to degrade the country’s agriculture and economic growth prospects and urges authorities in Zambia to reserve funds for climate action.
There is an urgent call to seek adaptation and other mitigation initiatives as espoused under the country’s National Adaptation Policy to help halt the escalating degree of degradation of environmental resources, starting with the soil, a lifeline for sustained food productivity.
Agronomic solutions already identified by the Government need to be implemented rapidly and at scale.
These include crop diversification, improved soil fertility management, liming, and agroforestry. Investing in resource-efficient irrigation is also paramount for adapting to climate change.
Large commercial farms make about eight times higher profits during peak season when they irrigate their fields than farms which rely on rainfed production.
As the climate change crisis is arguably here to stay, there is a need for Zambia to encourage Public-Private partnerships (PPPs) to cooperate with farming communities to invest in irrigation and to establish well-defined water user rights and fees.
The falling water levels both underground and surface that accumulated and lost in the climate crisis process should be recovered through continued promotion of e water-conserving tillage practices such as minimum tillage, cover crops, and residue retention to reduce water stress during dry periods.
Under the country’s climate policy, Zambia prioritises adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures to lessen its vulnerability to climate variability and change. Promote sustainable land use planning to protect key ecosystems and related services too.
The report urges Zambia to unlock its agricultural potential, diversify maize production and embrace other crops as a way of maximizing food production to overcome the surging poverty among its populace, chiefly in rural areas, create jobs and overcome its development challenges.
The Bretton Woods institution cites agriculture among the two major growth sector pathways to bolster Zambia’s productivity-enhancing economic transformation, generate better jobs, and deliver sustained and inclusive growth while bolstering food security amid heightening climate change factors.
Variety growing of crops will help maximize revenue intake and this will help necessitate job creation and help tackle Zambia’s development challenges spurred by the increasing climate hazards.
“It has enormous potential to drive poverty reduction, but expensive and distortive support programs, coupled with increasing climate hazards, constrain productivity growth and dampen opportunities to diversify beyond maize” the report reads in part.
The agriculture sector, though expensive to sustain but marred by distortive support programs, the increase in climate hazards inclusive have faltered the country’s capacity to realise real returns and needs to be maximised through climate actions, bolster productivity and in turn create better jobs for most Zambians because the country’s natural capital.
Most farmers in Zambia are smallholders, depend on maize and rainfall, and are seeing crop yields decline. Labor productivity in the sector has fallen by almost 50 percent over the last 20 years, its estimates show.
Around 80 percent of the poor live in rural areas and rely primarily on farming, livestock, and other agricultural work; close to 60 percent of working Zambians are employed in agriculture, a call for policy review.
“Zambia has the natural capital for its agricultural sector to become an engine of economic growth and poverty alleviation. Yet the country’s agricultural productivity is well below potential and on a downward trend.” The report said
Though Zambia’s growth trajectories show positivity, there is greater need for structure and policy reforms and a long term debt resolution strategy that will unlock productivity in other growth sectors to resolve the debt impasse and invest freed resources in the economy.
Unlocking productivity in agriculture and economic transformation for better and sustainable jobs anchored on macroeconomic stability and a reignited private-sector investment.
Zambia needs to increase productivity and accelerate economic transformation to achieve sustained and inclusive growth.
Zambia’s debt resolution and ongoing reforms are expected to support macroeconomic stability and reignite private-sector investment. Support firms to become resilient to climate change.
Other growth pathways include inducing wide reforms to unlock broad-based private sector productivity growth and increase its role in driving jobs and economic transformation.
The upcoming Country Private Sector Diagnostic delves into private sector opportunities in agribusiness, mining, renewable energy, tourism, and transport and logistics.
The CEM also complements previous works and publications, including the Zambia Jobs Diagnostic (2017), the Systematic Country Diagnostic (2018), and the Zambia Urbanization Review, all that have been targeted to create economic growth impetus for the 20-million populated economy.
Zambia needs to create over 10 million new jobs by 2050 to keep its labor force participation and employment rates from declining. It however needs to undertake radical policy reforms including investing in the energy sector and provide unwavering access to quality electricity supply with support from the private sector.