WHEAT LAUNCH

HAPPY MULOLANI Government says it will not allow importation of wheat in the country. Agriculture and Livestock Minister Given Lubinda says government will not allow wheat importation in order to empower the local farmers sale their wheat this season. Mr. Lubinda urged farmers not to increase wheat prices but sale wheat at parity prices that were competitive on the market. He said during a launch of the wheat harvest season at Zambezi Ranching and Cropping in Lusaka. Mr. Lubinda further explained that he has engaged the Minister of Energy to prioritise the agriculture sector in order to boost wheat production amid the power outages that may affect its production. And Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has appealed to government to lower the cost of wheat production. ZNFU Second Vice President Graham Rae said if costs of wheat production were lowered, the country had the capacity to export wheat to the region and beyond. Mr Rae said despite the challenges of power outages affecting wheat production, farmers managed to produce 330,000metric tonnes of wheat. Mr. Rae pointed out that last season 52 percent of the total wheat crop was sold while this year 93 percent of wheat is yet to be sold.