Cereal deficit threatens household food security

The cereal deficit Zambia has been experiencing threatens household food security, the acting director of Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM), Helen Samatebele, was quoted as saying by the ‘Post’ newspaper on Monday. Samatebele said on Sunday, during the launch of the 2001/2002 agricultural inputs distribution programme for targeted food security packs (FSP), that this season would determine the success of the FSP, the Zambian newspaper reported. The FSP is a government-funded programme to provide household food security to about 200,000 vulnerable but viable small scale farmers, the report said. Samatebele said one of the ways of reducing the negative impact of the last farming season was to distribute inputs early this season. The country this year has a food deficit and has to import about 300,000 mt of maize, according to the report. Samatebele said PAM would immediately start distributing inputs to all districts, beginning with those which are cut off during the rainy season. “This project will promote crop diversification and soil conservation methods,” she was quoted as saying. Community Development and Social Services Minister Jane Chikwata reminded the target beneficiaries that the inputs were loans and not free hand-outs. They had to be paid for to ensure the programme’s continuity, she said. The report said the FSP would help reduce the number of people on public welfare assistance.