CHONGWE District Commissioner Evans Lupiya has called on residents in the area to adopt good nutrition practices by including indigenous foods to their diet in order to live healthier lives.
Dr Lupiya said local foods contain high nutritional values which have the ability to improve nutrition levels in the area.
He said that people should not neglect traditional ways of cooking food such as combining different types of food as such cooking methods which made food more nutritious, thereby curbing malnutrition at household level.
Dr Lupiya was speaking when he officiated at the World Food Day under the theme Leave no one behind’ in Kanakantapa Ward on Monday.
He said the Government and various stakeholders had encouraged people to take up farming methods that responded to the prevailing climate change.
“It is a well known fact that dependence on rain fed agriculture and climate has greatly contributed lack of food availability for most families. This is why we have been working hard as a district to navigate effective interventions to address these challenges,” Dr Lupiya said.
He also urged the people of Chongwe to plant fruits in their hackyards and preserve seasonal foods which they could eat out of season.
And HIVOS Southern Africa Zambia representative Tambudzai Matenga said this year’s theme resonated with the voices for a climate change project currently being implemented in the district aimed at giving residents an opportunity to tailor local solutions to counter the effects of climate change such as food insecurity.
“Most farmers in Chongwe are affected by climate change and under the voices for just climate project, we want to learn how farmers are copying with climate change and what food people are growing under the current climatic conditions,” Ms Matenga said.
She called on everyone to take up locally tailored solutions to promote nutrition and food security despite the adverse effects of climate change which have negatively affected the farming area.
And National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC) district coordinator Prudence Bwalya said the organisation has made positive strides in the fight against malnutrition by promoting the uptake of diverse foods among the residents of Chongwe.
“The fight against malnutrition is everyone’s fight and this is why we are working with various stakeholders in the district to ensure that we successfully promote the uptake of nutritious local foods among residents,” she said.
