ANNUAL INFLATION RATE DROPS TO 7.2 PERCENT LOW WATER LEVELS TO AFFECT ELECTRICITY GENERATION FARMERS REJECT BEEF IMPORTS

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1 FRIDAY BRIEF WEEK 13, 2015 THIS Week s Highlights ANNUAL INFLATION RATE DROPS TO 7.2 PERCENT LOW WATER LEVELS TO AFFECT ELECTRICITY GENERATION FARMERS REJECT BEEF IMPORTS... SEE DETAILED UPDATES BELOW INDUSTRY UPDATES/ALERTS ANNUAL INFLATION RATE DROPS TO 7.2 PERCENT Zambia s annual inflation rate for the month of March, 2015 was recorded at 7.2 % by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), 0.2 percentage point lower than the February 2015 record. According to CSO data, the reduction in the general prices of food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, electricity, water and fuel among others, between March 2014 and March 2015, outweighed the increment in in the prices of education, health and housing maintenance. Food items that posted notable price reductions between February 2015 and March 2015 include vegetables such as rape cabbage and tomatoes. On the other hand, prices of dried fish, dry Kapenta, goat meat and maize recorded price increments. LOW WATER LEVELS TO AFFECT ELECTRICITY GENERATION The Union has learnt that low water levels at Itezhi-tezhi reservoir and Kariba following the shortened period of rainfall this season will have dire consequences on power generation by ZESCO. At Itezhi-tezhi only 70% of required water levels has been achieved yet when the rainfall pattern is normal, the 100% levels of water required for power generation is achieved by April. Farmers have requested ZESCO to do some simulations and estimate how many power generation days can be achieved from the water levels available. Furthermore, ZESCO has indicated that they will be engaging various water stakeholders who include farmers to discuss ways of conserving water in view of the low water levels and to enhance adoption of demand management measures. It is therefore evident that load shedding on a wider scale could be on the horizon. 1

2 Other salient points of interest to note are as follows:- Power Factor surcharge will be introduced by January The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) is in the process of conducting a cost of service study which will contribute to determining the next tariff adjustments. 150 megawatts of coal generated power will hit the ZESCO grid by November 2015 and another 150 megawatts will become available in the first quarter of Union should lobby for removal of VAT on power factor correction equipment and VSD equipment. Increased power outages will be faced by farmers in the Kabwe/Kapiri area as Zesco prepares to put in a by-pass in preparation for the upgrading (re-conducting) of the Kabwe/Kapiri 88 kv line and when the actual works are being done. The current period for this work is April to end July but subject to changes. ZESCO will step up customer notification of the outages through ZNFU and SMS during this period. Albidon Mine operations in Mazabuka are expected to restart. Zesco is making preparations by putting in a new substation near Mubuyu and upgrading of some lines to take care of this. All this came to light from the ZNFU/ZESCO Committee which met this morning, 27 th March FARMERS REJECT BEEF IMPORTS Farmers in Mkushi and Kabwe districts have rejected beef imports into the country. Making submissions to the ZNFU commissioned Beef Production and Marketing Study, the farmers have emphasized that no beef imports should be allowed in the country. Calling for the protection of the local beef industry, the farmers have since argued that the country had sufficient beef to satisfy the local market demand with capacity to produce choice and prime beef qualities. Farmers have further reiterated the fear that imported beef was highly subsidized and fed on GMO products and growth stimulants in their feed stock. Beef farmers have since called on government to focus on developing infrastructure, improve animal husbandry extension and veterinary services, and develop a beef auction sale system in order to enhance growth of the beef sub-sector. The ZNFU Beef Production and Marketing Study is aimed at obtaining a clear picture of beef production, processing and marketing chains in Zambia. The study further seeks to ascertain avenues of creating marketing opportunities and the impact of imported beef in the country. NEWS FROM ASSOCIATIONS DAZ MEMBERS ECOURAGED TO USE CERTIFIED SCALES DAZ members are discouraged from using false scales when engaging in transactions to avoid contravening the law as stressed in the Weights and Measurement Act chapter 403 of the laws of Zambia. This was reaffirmed by the Zambia Weights and Measurement Agency at a ZABS workshop recently. The Zambia Weights and Measures Agency (ZWMA) is the statutory body mandated to verify measuring instruments used in trade. Its role in summary is to assure the accuracy and thus fairness of all measuring equipment and that of actual versus stated quantities on the labels of pre-packaged consumer goods. ZWMA is reported to be carrying out random checks on companies. We therefore urge our members to be proactive and prepare for such visits by ensuring that only authentic scales i.e. ZWMA approved scales with a ZWMA stamp or seal of verification are used. For further details on this contact ZWMA offices located at Plot no.2387, Longolongo Road, Light Industrial Area, Lusaka. Phone /97. 2

3 TIT-BITS ON PREVENTING ANTI-BIOTIC RESIDUES IN MILK 1. Prevent disease to minimize the use of antibiotics: Maintain good herd health; use best management practices for animal husbandry. Practice farm and herd biosecurity. Mark and separate treated cows from the milking herd. 2. Follow directions on drug and medicated feed labels: Note whether drug is approved for lactating cows. Follow instructions for treatment dosage, frequency and route of administration. Adhere to recommended milk-withholding time. 3. Keep good treatment records: Make one person responsible for treating cows and monitoring records. Record the following: ID numbers of treated cows, Dates and times of treatment, the antibiotic used, its dosage, frequency and route of administration and the drug withdrawal period. Review and check records at every milking. Keep milk from treated cows out of the milking line: 4. Withhold milk from any cow receiving oral, intramuscular, udder infusion or intrauterine antibiotic treatments and some salves and sprays. Milk all treated animals last. Discard milk from all four quarters of udder, even if only one quarter was treated. NB: All milk with antibiotic residues will be rejected by processors. NEWS FROM THE REGIONS COPPERBELT REGION DRY SPELL THREATENS CROP PRODUCTION IN MUFURILA A severe moisture stress is threatening crop production in some parts of the Copperbelt. This follows a continuous dry spell being experienced in most parts of the province. A field check in Mufurila reveals that maize is the most affected crop wilting rapidly due to the dry spell. This development has invoked panic among small scale farmers who have since expressed fear of looming hunger. Being dependent on rains for their production, farmers have called on government to be on alert for possible mitigation of hunger this year. CENTRAL REGION FARMERS EXPRESS WORRY OVER NEXT CROP MARKETING SEASON Farmers in Central Province have expressed concern at this year s crop marketing system which may foreseeably record low participation of the private sector. This is attributed to government s recent intention to offload one million tons of maize from the FRA onto the local market at K65 per 50 Kg bag in exchange for a reduction in mealie meal prices. The farmers, who attended Central Province 2015 ZNFU Regional Planning Meeting on 25 th and 26 th March, 2015 in Mkushi and Kapiri Mposhi districts respectively, are worried that government has taken this decision without looking at their plight. The farmers are calling for a better crop marketing season than last years while convinced that the planned measures will not help. The region conducted its 2015 planning meeting with an overall call to step up lobby efforts, better and improved crop marketing system, road infrastructure development, farming schemes electrification, construction of Livestock Service Centers and the construction of irrigation dams. 3

4 FARMERS DISMAYED WITH GOVERMENT S DECISION TO ALLOW WHEAT IMPORTS Farmers in Chisamba, Kabwe and Mkushi Districts have expressed shock at government s recent pronouncement that 75,000 metric tons of wheat will be imported into the country followed by the removal of 15 percent duty on non SADC and non COMESA wheat. Farmers are concerned with the effects of importing cheap wheat and the removal of duty on non-sadc and COMESA wheat. The farmers have stated that the move will depress market prices of locally grown wheat and have since called on government to rethink and possibly reverse the detrimental decision before local wheat production begins to decline. Farmers have argued that there is enough wheat in the country which does not justify the importation. Meanwhile, investments in this year s winter crop beginning this April will solely depend on this decision. ZARI ASSESSES SOILS FOR CHEMICAL RESIDUES Officials from Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock have collected soil and crop samples in Mkushi district from both small scale and commercial farms to investigate levels and effects of soil pesticides residues in legume and cereal crops. The investigation is aimed at generating information on the levels of pesticide residues in the soil and plant parts at critical plant growth stages and at post-harvest. The results will be used to raise awareness amongst various stakeholders on the appropriate use of pesticides to minimise pesticide residues in the agricultural production systems and improved access to safe food. FISP FERTILIZERS REPORTED MISSING IN CHIBOMBO A postmortem of the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) distribution in 2014/2015 in Chibombo District reveals that 488 by 50kg bags of Urea and 95 bags of D Compound were not received despite farmers having paid for the inputs. The District Agriculture Committee meeting held last week to review FISP performance in the District heard that lack of storage facilities in the district have hampered smooth input distribution. Out of a total of 4800MT of urea and 4800 MT of Compound D fertilizer received in the district, a shortage of 24.4MT of urea and 4.75MT basal fertilizers was report. EASTERN A REGION DRY SPELL HITS EASTERN PROVINCE A long dry spell has continued to affect most parts of Chadiza, Chipata and Lundazi Districts for close to a month now. A number of fields have since shown signs of crop wilting for Maize at the stage of tussling. Field visits have revealed that farmers practicing conventional tillage methods have mostly been affected by the extreme weather conditions when compared to farmers using conservation farming techniques whose crop is showing signs of resilience to drought. The farmers have since been advised to adopt conservation farming and crop diversification as an adaptation to bad weather for food security. CHADIZA DFA RECORDING OUTSTANDING GROWTH Chadiza District farmers association has intensified its efforts to make the association more viable and self-sustaining. The association has since grown its membership from 300 two years ago to more than 1, 700 members in 2014, which is largely attributed to leadership commitments in the DFA. The DFA is now set to complete its second building under construction on top of a tractor purchased for member services last year. With support from African Development Bank (ADB) funding, the DFA is now pressing oil from sunflower for sale to its members and the locals. The DFA is also in the process of buying incubators to support women farmers in the production of day old chicks. 4

5 CHIPATA DC URGES MORE FARMERS TO JOIN ZNFU Chipata District Commissioner, Kalunga Zulu has called on all the farmers in Chipata to join the Zambia National Farmers Union. Speaking at the launching of 2015 membership renewal ceremony, Mr. Zulu encouraged farmers to regularly pay their subscription as the Union is in a good position to represent their interests. The DC has since thanked the Union for complementing government efforts through programs like the Lima Credit Scheme. EASTERN B REGION OVER 300 FARMERS IN PETAUKE AND KATETE IN LOOMING CROP FAILURE Over 300 farmers in Petauke and Katete have been affected by bad weather this year. Meanwhile, officials from Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC) are in the two districts to assess the looming crop failure due to prolonged dry spells. ZNFU has partnered with ZSIC to conduct crop assessments in order to ascertain the extent of crop damage with the farmers on the Lima Credit Scheme. ZSIC is one of the partners on the Lima Credit Scheme which is offering the insurance part of the scheme. Preliminary assessment conducted by ZNFU Regional and District Staff, reveals the reality of the situation on the ground as dire. IRATE PETAUKE MARKETEERS STORM COUNCIL OFFICES Marketers and traders of Petauke District have complained over the recent upward adjustments of the Market Plot Levy by the District Council. The District Council has increased the levy by more than 100% prompting an uprising by irate marketeers who stormed the Council Secretary s Office. Plot levies for some poultry traders talked to have been increased from K245 to K695 while levies for the traders inside the market have gone up from K140 to K244. An affected poultry trader, Mr. Banda said the council should have sort consensus with the marketeers before enforcing the changes. Council Secretary, Mr. Pethias Sumba reassured the marketeers that the issue will be forwarded to Council Advisory Committee for further consideration. 170, 000 CHICKENS EAR-MARKED FOR VACCINATION IN PETAUKE The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock through the department of Veterinary and Livestock in Petauke District have embarked on an exercise to vaccinate Village Chickens against New Castle. The exercise is targeting to vaccinate 170,000 chickens of which 35,000 chickens have already been vaccinated in the two weeks that the program has been running so far. The aim of the exercise is to control the New Castle disease which has been a problem for quite some time. LUAPULA REGION DACO APPEALS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CHIPILI DFA The District Agriculture Coordinator for Chipili district, Mr. Nsepela Davitus has appealed to the ZNFU Regional Office to expedite the establishment of Chipili DFA. The DACO has since commended the ZNFU/NATSAVE partnership over the Bunjimi asset plus and the Lima credit scheme as avenues for opening up bigger doors to agriculture as a business. He has further reiterated the assurance that farmers were ready to use the financial products being offered under the services. Mr. Nsepela has also challenged farmers and financial institutions to seize the good opportunity for business growth. 5

6 NORTHERN REGION KASAMA DC APPLAUDS ZNFU Kasama acting DC, Mrs. Simukoko has applauded the ZNFU for innovative services that are targeted to empower small scale farmers in Northern Province. Officiating at the Northern Regional Planning meeting held on 24 th March, 2015, the DC pledged to work with the Union as an organization which was supplementing government s efforts in delivering agricultural services. Further commended ZNFU for supplementing government efforts. She pledged to work with ZNFU in order to develop the small holder farmers in the Province. Meanwhile, ZNFU has urged the DFA leaders attending the meetings in Mbala and Kasama to emphasize on membership growth in their own and other DFAs. Famers are pleased with the meetings as platforms for expressing their many concerns. In a related development, Mbala District Administrative officer Mr. Mungailia Felix praised ZNFU for its good programs such as the Lima Credit Scheme which has been supporting government s efforts to reduce poverty at household level. ZNFU has since expressed gratitude to the office of the District commissioner for continued support to Mbala District farmers Association and the farming community. A call has also been extended to MAL at the District level through and the District commissioner s office to allow DFA members to benefit from Fertilizer support program (FISP) because they are also farmers like those in other farmer groups. MUNGWI DISTRICT COUNCIL PROCURES ROAD EQUIPMENT Mungwi District Council has finally procured the long awaited road construction equipment. The grader and a tipper bought with Constituency Development funds have finally arrived while a pay loader is still been awaited. Council Secretary has since assured residents that targeted works on certain feeder roads will soon commence as the rains subside. Mungwi DFA Chairperson, Mr. David Ng andu has thanked the council for coming to the farmers aid and welcomed the development with a commitment to working with the council. ZAMSEED HAPPY WITH IC DEMO PLOTS Zamseed Field officer Mr. Blest Mwaba has expressed happiness with the performance of Zamseed Demo plots in some selected Information Centers in Mbala. This follows visitations of Nondo and Mansha Information Centres for Demo monitoring in readiness for field days. And ZNFU field facilitator advised Mbala DFA members to consider diversification to reduce dependence on maize alone, but to grow other cash crops such as Rice, soya beans and groundnuts. NORTH/WESTERN B REGION ZNFU AND MAL PARTNER TO CONDUCT AGRIBUSINESS TRAININGS The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Chavuma has this week, on Thursday 27 th March 2015 conducted farmer trainings in agribusiness management for a number of Co-operatives and Information centers. District Agricultural coordinator Mr. Peter Maseka said the trainings will be done almost every quarter. The DACO took the opportunity to appeal to farmers to graduate from Farm Input Support Program (FISP) dependency and embrace viable and robust programs like the ZNFU lead Lima Credit Scheme and other Services. HUNDREDS ATTEND FIELD DAY IN KABOMPO The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Zambia National Farmers' Union in Kabompo District of Northwestern province successfully held a district field day. The field day, held under the theme Conservation farming for better yields and maximized income, drew hundreds of farmers from different areas of the district. District Commissioner Jackson Makupa encouraged the farmers to take advantage of the knowledge acquired from the field day to better their yields through conservation farming. Mr. Makupa said despite the district having had a dry spell of over a month, farmers adopting conservation farming methods proved to have better crop performance. At the same occasion, Kabompo District 6

7 Farmers' Association Chairman Mr. George Munyingu challenged the farmers to fully utilise the ZNFU offices as they have all that a farmers needs in the development of the farm today. Mr. Munyingu took time to explain to the gathered farmers the benefit of belonging to the DFA, the Lima Credit scheme and how it can uplift the living Standards of farmers and the assets that can be acquired on Bunjimi asset finance. SOUTHERN A REGION SOUTHERN DFAs DEMONSTRATE IMPROVED LOBBY AND ADVOCACY CAPACITY DFA s capabilities to identify lobby and advocacy issues in Southern A region has been enhanced. This was apparent during the recently held Regional Planning and Review meetings for the region. During group discussions on the sidelines of the regional forum, the DFAs demonstrated their capacity to lobby for practical solutions in the sector. The DFAs also appreciated the fact that such farmer forums have enabled the building of fruitful dialogue between ZNFU and the DFAs, government and other stakeholders to ensure that issues were responded to adequately. FARMERS URGE GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE FRA CROP MARKETING Farmers have called on government to improve the FRA crop marketing system which has been marred with distribution and payment flaws in the recent past. The concern has been raised with the recent fears of crop failure due to prolonged dry spells. Responding to issues raised during the regional meetings, Choma and Livingstone District Commissioners affirmed government s commitment to bring the issues cited to an end. BEEF INDUSTRY STUDY CONDUCTED IN CHOMA DISTRICT ZNFU has commenced the Beef Production and Marketing Study in Choma District. The objective of the study is to investigate the true picture of the beef production and marketing value chain in Zambia and the effects of beef imports on the local market. Small scale and commercial beef farmers were represented in focus groups bringing out heated issues of beef production, processing and marketing in Zambia. Farmers could not hide the fact that their business was being threatened by lack of clear policies for the beef and agriculture industry in general. WESTERN REGION NKEYEMA DFA HOLDS INCEPTION LEADERSHIP TRAINING ZNFU Western Regional office has facilitated the launch of the newly formed Nkeyema District Farmers Association culminating into it s first-ever leadership training and organization workshop. The objective of the workshop was to build capacity of the DFA and to acquaint the new DFA leadership on organizational matters pertaining to the smooth day to day affairs of a DFA. A total of 73 farmers were in attendance including all IC executive members and their contact farmers. In thanking the ZNFU, DFA representative, Mr. Mutonga Mutonga ensured that all the 73 farmers in attendance renewed their 2015 membership to the DFA. MUCHINGA REGION MUCHINGA REGION HOLDS SUCCESSFUL PLANNING MEETING Muchinga region successfully held its regional planning meeting in Nakonde district this Thursday 26 th March The meeting drew not less than 50 participants from Nakonde, Isoka, Chinsali and Mpika DFAs. The meeting was graced by Nakonde district fisheries officer, Mr. Elias Chipulu - representing the District Commissioner. He thanked ZNFU for taking planning activities so seriously in all its structures saying that planning enables Countries, organizations, Companies and individuals to achieve set targets towards greater heights. 7

8 He also praised Union for coming up with tailor made products and services such as Lima credit scheme and Bunjimi Asset plus were farmers access implements, the Women Innovation fund and Land survey service, where farmers get title deeds for their land. All these products and services are meant to bring development at households and national level, he noted. Farmers of Muchinga region have also taken the platform as an opportunity to appeal to government to rescind its decision on the recently announced wheat imports and offloading maize from FRA at a lower price. Farmers have noted that the implications of the move is foreseeably big owing to the impact on the local wheat industry. UPCOMING TRAININGS 2015 SEMINARS AT LIVESTOCK SERVICES DATE COURSE TIME 11 th April,2015 Broiler Production(Dr Siamupa), free 08:00 TO 12:00 DATE COURSE TIME 28 th April,2015 Principles of home feed mixing (Mr. Phiri/Mercy), K 50 08:00 to 12:00 Meat processing (Mr Nchito, ) K75 Venue: Daybreak Farm, Kafue Road DATE COURSE TIME 25 th April,2015 Pig Production (Dr Mutemwa),free 08:00 TO 12:00 Basics for Beginners REGISTRATION AT THE LAB FRONT DESK OR CALL: /254497/8 ALERT! 8