By Happy Mulolani
THE national budget is a critical tool for government policy implementation. Hence, the realisation of the right to food is provided through the directive principles of state policy. This means the legal recognition of the right to food in Zambia is a priority.
This notion provided the basis for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to convene at the Urban hotel in Lusaka recently to advocate for a budget that is responsive towards the right to food in Zambia, through broad-based civil society consultations on the national budget.
The meeting was organised under the project “Stronger Together: Supporting civil society to Advance the right to Food for all individuals, households, and communities in Zambia,” with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through We Effect.
FIAN Zambia Country Coordinator Vladimir Chilinya highlighted that amid the challenges of drought, which hit most households in the country, the government initiated a number of programmes such as cash for work, school feeding, social cash transfer, among others.
“The challenges the country faced in 2024 brought as a result of drought…led to the government rolling out some progressive programmes and initiatives,” Mr Chilinya said.
He pointed out that these initiatives aimed at assisting vulnerable people to have food and other necessities. However, the practicality of these initiatives lies in the ability to sustain them, and also contribute towards addressing hunger and malnutrition in the long-term.
Mr Chilinya appealed to the government to upscale these interventions to enable vulnerable people access food and other basic needs.
“These programmes are key as poverty and malnutrition are still very high in the country, hence the need to re-look at the budgetary needs to meet these demands,” he said.
Mr Chilinya explained that upscaling these programmes will positively contribute to the welfare of households.
“The programmes will not only contribute to the improvement of the living standards of people but also contribute to the realisation of the right to food for all individuals, households and communities,” he said.
Mr Chilinya urged government to also consider prioritising investment in water and sanitation facilities, in particular low-income and high-density areas.
Speaking at the consultative meeting, Caritas Zambia, Economic and Social Accountability Specialist, Edmond Kangamungazi, states that Zambia is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This positions the country to ensure its citizenry have access and the right to food.
“At least over 12 million people are unable to afford decent food, hence the need to re-look at the budget and give more people access to decent food,” Mr Kangamungazi said.
He observed that the agriculture sector needs to be allocated 10 percent, which is in tandem with the Malabo declaration. Currently, the allocated budget has not yet reached 10 percent. For instance, in 2022, only 4.7 percent was allocated, while this year, 7 percent was allocated.
Mr Kangamungazi proposed the need to engage members of parliament to ensure they legislate food rights and also assist in the National Food and Nutrition Commission in leading reforms, and further calls for the integration of nutrition in laws and development plans.
According to an agroecology farmer, Mary Chilala, “The funds allocated to FISP are adequate, but other than inputs and fertiliser, consideration should be made to include small livestock. In this way, the FISP package will have more of an integrated approach.”
Ms Chilala also asserts the need to include more indigenous crops such as sorghum, millet on FISP, if agroecology is to be effectively promoted.
She further calls for increased gender and women’s representation given that majority of producers in agricultural production are women.
“If women do not take their rightful place to make decisions, it will not enhance women’s representation,” Ms Chilala vehemently stated.
Zambia Climate Change Network Partnerships and Programme Liaison Officer, Simon Mwamba, called for the making available of skills to practise enhanced agriculture production. “This approach of appreciating indigenous foods need to start from an infancy stage. For instance, programmes such as the school feeding programmes,” Mr Mwamba said.
While, Zambia Alliance of Women Participatory Governance and Membership Development Lead Deborah Mchulu reiterated the need for investing in livestock and extension officers to service the high ratio existing between the farmers and extension staff.
Ms Mchulu also suggested the need to have irrigation hubs to cater for more farmers dotted across various parts of the country.
FIAN Zambia Monitoring and Accountability Officer Adrian Zulu cited the Sustainable Agricultural Finance Facility (SAFF) as a good programme as it aims to provide finance to farmers. But, its accessibility to more farmers across the supported value chains has to be enhanced.
Mr Zulu also explained that there must be deliberate efforts to include indigenous seeds to support agroecology among farmer communities.
Civil society organisations need to intensify their awareness of activities to implement next year and make a difference in influencing communities as they promote the right to food.
Overall, this cause supports Article 25 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which speaks to enabling everyone a decent standard of living, adequate for health and well-being, which includes; food, clothing, housing and medical care, and social services.