THE Government says it is committed to ending hunger in the country through the implementation of the Feed Zambia, Zero Hunger programme.
Secretary to Cabinet, Patrick Kangwa says the country reviewed its current food systems by adopting five pathways namely, ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all, shifting to healthy and sustainable patterns and boosting nature-positive food production.
And also advancing equitable livelihoods of people involved in the food systems and consumption as well as building resilience to vulnerability, shocks and stresses,” he said.
Mr Kangwa said progress has been made in implementing the five pathways by mapping them to the mandates of key stakeholders in the country such as government, cooperating partners, private sector, civil society, regional bodies and research institutions involved in the food value chain.
Speaking during the Zambia Food Systems Stocking National Dialogue in Lusaka, Mr Kangwa said the mapping exercise was critical because it formed the basis for implementing the National Food and Nutrition programme envisaged in the Food and Nutrition Act Number 3 of 2020.
“I am happy to note that Zambia’s food system pathways are now aligned with UN food system pathways,” he said.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative Mtendere Mphatso said while the Government had put in place policies and strategies aimed at improving food security and nutrition, the country’s food system was not efficient and sustainable enough to provide food security and adequate nutrition for all.
Mr Mphatso said the use of improved and sustainable agricultural production technologies remained limited among the small-scale farmers who were the majority of the food producers leading to lower productivity, limited diversification in agricultural production and stagnantly low incomes.
He said output markets particularly for nutritious value chains are limited with poor storage and food production at household level and it is for this reason that need arose to transform the food system, to make it resilient and sustainable.
Speaking earlier, UN resident coordinator, Beatrice Mutali said a sustainable food system lies at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the call for major transformations in agriculture and food system; to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition by 2030.
Mr Mutali said to realize the SDGs, the global food system needs to be reshaped, be more productive, more inclusive, environmentally sustainable and resilient and able to deliver healthy and nutritious diets to all.
