By HAPPY MULOLANI
The numerous effects of
climate change such as flash floods, excessive heat and heavy rainfall among
other effects remain a source of concern in Zambia. To overcome these effects,
the Consortium of Climate Change campaigners has intensified its efforts in
formulating an agroecology strategy which will address particular concerns
affecting production and productivity.
The strategy is expected
to champion the needs of the consortium to ensure that its work is enriched
through the Agricultural Consultative Forum (ACF) which has provided a platform
to ensure that the strategy speaks to specific needs and the Ministry of
Agriculture provides its facilitational role.
The consortium has been
in existence since 2018. It is mandated to advocate and lobby for the transformation
of food systems in Zambia by promoting agroecology. This is to ensure the
promotion of biodiversity and adaption, resilience and improving livelihoods.
PELUM Zambia Country
Coordinator Wamunyima Muketoi, explains that it becomes easier to mobilise a
critical mass through the Agriculture policy which runs for the next five
years.
Mr Muketoi says that for
the consortium to be effective, they need to work on mapping of key
stakeholders in climate change related work to avoid duplication of the same
work.
Consultant Fatima Nkhuwa
concurs that what needs to be taken into account is the international
organisations and progressive partners who have worked in pushing the agenda
for agroecology to influence appropriate actions to deal with climate change.
The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) synergy is therefore critical to look at
whose located in a specific context, and providing particular interventions, and
who the influencers are.
“If there is a Civil
Society Organisation doing specific work, it’s imperative to push the
influencer to enable movement in tackling the climate change agenda in the
various spheres,” Consultant Fatima Nkhuwa explains.
This is amid the
realization that there are a number of organisations working around various
climate change interventions but working in silos. This means what is required
is once key players are identified and come together, it will be easier to deal
with addressing identified policy gaps in an organised manner.
Ms Nkhuwa explains that
adopting a multisectoral approach of all key players will deal with issues to
climate change with one voice. This strategy needs to speak to the national
agenda such as productivity, food security, increase income and food security.
Clearly, the consortium’s
clusters are already working on three critical clusters. These include the agriculture
cluster which will deal with reviewing agriculture policies, climate and
environment cluster will look at climate related policies and public resource
management cluster will look at public resources. The last cluster is the
movement building cluster which is expected to speak with one voice on
pertinent climate change issues.
These identified clusters
are expected to inform the agroecology strategy which will feed into the
national agriculture agenda at the national level.
Adopting this approach
with key players will not only enhance their momentum but will also improve the
policy gaps and opportunities within the agroecology sphere.
What is key is to clearly
understand agroecology and its necessary elements such as seed, soil, water and
inputs which will contribute to enrich the soils and also produce healthy
foods.
A farmer in Lusaka West, Robert Chimango who
has seriously taken up sustainable agriculture practices, said that there is
need for the consortium to embark on a pragmatic approach in reforming some of
the policies and also speed up the process of coming up with an agroecology
strategy.
Admittedly, a lot of
research has been conducted over the years around agroecology but needs a
systematic way of disseminating this information to empower farmers and
communities. This calls for the active involvement and participation of the
media to provide key information on the critical aspects of agroecology through
an integrated mass media.
PELUM Zambia Communications
Officer Rebecca Mwila, explains that the media is a powerful effect and should
be in the forefront of propagating the media’s role of advocacy.
“A lot of effort has to
be put in packaging appropriate climate change information in order to raise
awareness,” Ms Mwila said.
It is clear that the type
of agriculture being experienced is industrial agriculture which some people
have advocated for such as clearing the land. This practice of clearing the
land has led to deforestation and other disastrous effects on the soil.
The climate change
reality shows that there is lack of water and other causes which are so
enormous, among them the causes of the greenhouse emissions which produces
greenhouse gases is still a mission to accomplish.
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