NEW DAWN GOV’T TO REVIVE FARM BLOCKS
By Pesulani Mwale
Finance Minister, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, says government has committed to reviving the development of farm blocks across the country.
Musokotwane notes that the move is aimed at promoting diversification, sustainability and job creation in the agri-food sector, as well as export the surplus crops.
Speaking during the presentation of the 2023 proposed National Budget, Friday, the Minister stated that government has secured a soft loan of $300 million US Dollars from the World Bank for the development of farm blocks.
He stated that farm blocks such as Nansanga in Central Province, Luswishi in Copperbelt Province and Luena in Luapula Province will benefit from the funding.
Musokotwane noted that the massive production on industrial scale that will happen in farm blocks will satisfy the export markets in Africa and beyond.
He elaborated that the Farm blocks will create thousands of jobs in agricultural production, in processing factories on site and in allied services at all levels.
Musokotwane remarked that typically, a farm block will be between 50,000 and 100,000 hectares of land will have one or two core ventures which produce a given agricultural product at large scale.