Senior Chief Nalubamba calls for support for traditional seed
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Top StoriesSenior Chief Shimumbo Nalubamba of Namwala District in Southern Province has called on the Government to strengthen support for traditional seed systems and promote crop diversification to enhance food security and build resilience against climate change. Speaking on Day Two of…
Senior Chief Shimumbo Nalubamba of Namwala District in Southern Province has called on the Government to strengthen support for traditional seed systems and promote crop diversification to enhance food security and build resilience against climate change.
Speaking on Day Two of the Zambia Traditional Seed and Food Festival in Lusaka, Senior Chief Nalubamba said Zambia could not continue relying heavily on maize production, especially amid increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns and the possibility of El Niño-related disruptions during the 2026/2027 farming season.
Senior Chief Nalubamba said traditional crops such as sorghum, millet, cowpeas and cassava could help households withstand climate shocks while improving nutrition and creating economic opportunities.
He said although maize remained important to national food security and household incomes, dependence on a single crop exposed farming households to unnecessary risks.
“Maize alone cannot guarantee food security, particularly under the increasingly unpredictable rainfall that we are experiencing as a country,” Senior Chief Nalubamba said.
He explained that previous generations practiced crop diversification by growing different crops in the same fields, including cowpeas, maize and traditional varieties, which helped families maintain alternative food sources when one crop failed.
Senior Chief Nalubamba said traditional seeds should not only be preserved because of their historical importance but also researched, improved, multiplied, marketed and consumed to make them economically viable.
“We must not preserve traditional seeds simply because they are traditional, we must preserve and improve them because they have a practical value for us today and they have a practical value for us tomorrow,” he said.
Senior Chief Nalubamba further called for greater investment in women farmers, noting that women played a central role in food production, seed preservation, household nutrition and agricultural marketing.
He said recognition of women’s contribution to agriculture should be accompanied by improved access to land, finance, irrigation, technology and markets.
Senior Chief Nalubamba urged traditional leaders to examine practices within their communities that could prevent women and young people from accessing productive land and participating in agricultural decision-making.
He said the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer should result in stronger women-led farming organisations, improved access to productive resources and the growth of rural businesses.
“A woman farmer should not only be recognised for preserving cowpea seeds. She should also have the opportunity to process, package and sell cowpeas profitably, and that is to the biggest buyer, who is Government in this case,” he said.
Senior Chief Nalubamba also called for increased investment in agroecological practices such as crop rotation, intercropping, composting, mulching, agroforestry and responsible water management to address soil degradation and environmental challenges.
He said the Government and other stakeholders should strengthen local seed systems and combine traditional farming knowledge with scientific research and modern agricultural technologies.
He further called for policies and reliable markets that would enable farmers and rural entrepreneurs to process and add value to traditional crops such as sorghum, millet, cowpeas and cassava.
He proposed supporting women’s cooperatives and young entrepreneurs to establish businesses in food processing, seed multiplication, storage, transportation and agricultural technologies.
Senior Chief Nalubamba also urged the Government to address market barriers affecting traditional crops, citing the Food Reserve Agency’s limited purchasing of certain maize varieties, including yellow and orange maize.
Meanwhile, Women farmers have called on the Government to strengthen policies that protect traditional seeds and increase investment in agroecology to promote sustainable agriculture and strengthen food security in Zambia.
Maureen Sichinga, an agroecological farmer from Lusangazi District in Eastern Province, whose farm is under Chief Nyampande’s Royal Establishment, said traditional seeds remained important in preserving the country’s agricultural heritage, improving nutrition and helping farmers adapt to climate change.
“Today I stand before you as a woman farmer, but I also stand on behalf of many women farmers across Zambia, those whose hands work the soil, whose knowledge preserves our traditional seeds and whose determination keeps food on our tables,” Mrs Sichinga said.
She said traditional farming knowledge has helped communities survive difficult seasons because women understood which crops performed well in their soils and which seeds could withstand challenging weather conditions.
Mrs Sichinga noted that the 2023/2024 drought had exposed the vulnerability of households that depended heavily on maize and synthetic agricultural inputs.
She encouraged farmers to diversify their crops by growing traditional varieties such as sorghum, millet, cowpeas, cassava and sweet potatoes, alongside indigenous fruits and vegetables.
“Traditional seeds are not seeds of the past. They are seeds for our future,” she said.
Mrs Sichinga said women are already adopting sustainable agricultural practices such as intercropping, composting, mulching, water conservation, rainwater harvesting and agroforestry.
She added that women farmers are also preserving traditional seeds through farmer-managed seed systems and community seed banks to reduce dependence on expensive external agricultural inputs.
“For us, agroecology is not simply a concept discussed at meetings. It is about how we grow our food, care for the land, protect our seeds and sustain our families,” she said.
Mrs Sichinga outlined key messages for Government and other stakeholders, including the protection of farmers’ rights, increased investment in agroecology, improved access to productive resources for women farmers and greater participation of farmers in agricultural decision-making.
She further called for policies that would allow farmers to conserve, use, exchange and sell traditional seeds alongside conventional seed systems.
She urged Government to invest in soil restoration, water harvesting, small-scale irrigation, integrated pest and disease management, farmer-to-farmer learning, community seed banks and agricultural research that responds to the needs of smallholder farmers.
Mrs Sichinga also called for a ban on highly hazardous pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals, citing concerns over their effects on human health and the environment.
She welcomed the development of Zambia’s National Agroecology Strategy and called for its validation and effective implementation, with farmers meaningfully involved at every stage.
She further stressed the need to improve women’s access to land, finance, appropriate technologies, agricultural extension services and markets.
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