DanChurchAid
Zambia
Natural disasters and poor preparedness
Certain areas of the country, notably Western, Southern, Central, Eastern and Lusaka provinces have been particularly susceptible to periodic droughts.The impact of drought, which is usually multi-sectored, leads to the disruption of productive activities that are dependent on water and agricultural raw materials.
The country has previously witnessed two major drought years in the last decade; 1991/92 and 1995/96.The 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons were also beset with poor rainfall patterns of alternating dry spells and flooding and a large amount of food aid was required to avert hunger.
A need to improve disaster preparedness
The effect on agricultural production has thus been cumulatively negative. The drought years resulted in corresponding decline in area harvested for maize. A problem in relation to droughts has been the inconsistence and inaccurate projections of the early warning systems on climatic conditions as indicated in the projections for the 2001 season. There is need to improve the early warning capability in Zambia as well as improving drought preparedness, food security reserves, seed security, water conserving technology and irrigated farming to reduce susceptibility to the vagaries of weather.
Flood disasters
In Zambia flood disasters also occur. Normally floods are a necessary part of most river ecosystems to maintain a wide range of wetland habitats.Floods bring benefits as they help to maintain the fertility of soils by depositing layers of silt and flushing salts from surface layers; and they provide water for natural irrigation and for fisheries which are a major source of protein.
Flood disasters in Zambia have been caused by river flooding from heavy or severe rainfall, sometimes associated with hailstorms which can destroy crops and buildings.In addition, human manipulation of watersheds, drainage basins and flood plains can also exacerbate floods.Even though flooding affects almost all provinces in the country, it is worse in areas where surface vegetation has been removed and in low lying flood plains and valleys in the Zambezi, Chambeshi and Luangwa river basins.
Crop and livestock diseases
Outbreaks of diseases of crops and livestock in recent years have set back efforts to develop agriculture and have restricted entry to broader global markets. In crops, serious outbreaks of the Larger Grain Borer (LGB) in maize led damage to storage. Cassava Mealy Bug and Cassava Mosaic Virus devastated cassava production in the 1990s, wiping out whole fields and reducing yields to almost zero in some cases.There have been serious diseases in soybeans (frog eye) and sweet potatoes (weevils).
The livestock sub sector has not been spared with outbreak of Corridor Disease (East Coast Fever) being one of the sad episodes that has been responsible for failure of livelihoods in Southern province. Some households have lost whole herds of cattle and its attendant benefits of manure, milk, draught power, and meat.National cattle population reduced from 5.4 million in 1996 to 1.2 million in 2000.The effect on draught power and food security was devastating.Other serious cattle diseases have included Trypanosomiasis, foot and mouth disease, and Contagious Bovine Pleura Pneumonia (CBPP). In the pig sub-sector, frequent outbreaks of swine fever have restricted the movement and marketability of pigs and pork products.
Zambia
