FORMER ZAMPOST BOSS McPHERSON CHANDA URGES ZAMBIA TO TARGET 9 MILLION TONNES OF MAIZE ANNUALLY
Former ZAMPOST Postmaster General and businessman Mcpherson Chanda has challenged Zambia to raise its ambitions in agriculture, arguing that celebrating annual maize harvests of between 3.5 and 5 million tonnes is not enough.
In a post shared on Facebook, Chanda described the country’s current production levels as a sign of “low ambition,” saying Zambia should set a minimum target of 9 million tonnes of maize every year.
He noted that while the country has produced between 3.5 and 5 million tonnes of maize over the past eight years, average yields remain at only about 3 tonnes per hectare. According to Chanda, existing agricultural science and technology can increase yields to around 10 tonnes per hectare, making a 9-million-tonne harvest achievable.
Chanda said increased maize production would have far-reaching economic benefits. He explained that higher output would reduce the cost of stock feed, lower prices for chickens, eggs, meat and milk, stabilise the price of mealie meal, increase farmers’ incomes, and generate additional foreign exchange earnings for Zambia through exports.
To achieve this vision, he called on the Ministry of Agriculture to launch a nationwide Soil Testing and Liming Campaign, similar to the Ministry of Health’s vaccination campaigns against diseases such as measles, polio and tuberculosis.
He emphasized that, alongside using the right seed varieties and controlling pests, liming has been proven to significantly improve crop yields, in some cases increasing production by up to 100%. He added that maize, soybeans, groundnuts, beans, wheat and many vegetables respond particularly well to liming.
Concluding his message, Chanda urged the nation to embrace innovation and higher standards in agriculture, saying, “Let us think differently.”