By Chapunga Manengu
The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture has commended agroecology as an initiative that should be embraced by line ministries as a cohesive integration in order to ensure that the last mile farmer succeeds in their production activities.
Joseph Cheelo, the Principal Agricultural Specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that most agroecology topics aim to rebuild soil structure to improve productivity for smallholder farmers.
Mr Cheelo was speaking during a stakeholders consultative meeting on agroecology with the line ministries in Solwezi.
“Agroecology simply involves permanent soil cover, crop rotation, agroforestry, minimum tillage and crop diversification,” Mr Cheelo said.
He mentioned that the inputs from the consultative meeting will be added to the National Agroecology strategy, which will also include an investment plan outlining how each plan will be achieved.
And Solwezi District Education Board Secretary Webby Kasangula said that his department is working towards making the school feeding programme sustainable through engaging the pupils and teachers on the ground.
“Our pupils are advantaged because through the school feeding programme they would be able to learn the practices of climate smart agriculture through hands on experiences which would help them strick a balance between sustainable and climate smart,” said Mr Kasangula.
Meanwhile, Victoria Mubabe a forestry officer under the Ministry of Green Economy and Development in Solwezi District, said that under the initiative of agroecology, the department has converged the local traditions with scientific knowledge.
an Agriculture Block Supervisor in Solwezi District,Mwansa Chimponda, said that the National Agroecology Strategy is a plan that would help farmers once they adopt it.
“The impact of climate change is very visible, and it is inevitable for such strategies to be practiced to meet the demands of the current situation,” Mr Mwansa said.
Among other line ministries under the agroecology initiative are Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Green Economy and Environment, Health, Education, Small Medium Enterprise Development, Community Development and the Local Government. -NAIS