. Kazabu

By JUDITH NAMUTOWE? –
THE Government plans to construct earth dams to provide water for animals in the mostly dry parts of the country.
Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister Luxon Kazabu in an interview in Lusaka expressed urgency of the matter and that most earth dams had dried up to the effects of climate change and this was negatively affecting animal population.
“It is just important for us to start working on plans to construct earth dams so that we can harvest some water for animals in some parts of the country which have become dry due to climate change. Failure to do that, it will be a setback for our country. So we need to find?resources first before we can embark on this particular project,” he said.
He said it was important for the Government to find resources to construct the earth dams, especially that the project would be a costly venture.
Mr Kazabu cited the new districts of Chirundu, Lusitu, Siavonga, and Gwembe as being among the hard-hit in terms of water supply for livestock.
He said once the funds were available, engineers would be dispatched to identify the areas where the earth dams would be constructed.
“So going forward, that is what we want to see done, without this it will be difficult to raise the animal population in the country,” he said.
The country’s livestock population was estimated between 3.5 million and 3.6 million which he said was nothing compared to the natural resources which the country was endowed with.