President Hichilema to make Official Visit to Kenya for the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit

On Thursday 9th May, President Hakainde Hichilema will undertake an Official Visit to Kenya, to attend the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit. The Summit was organised in 2022 at the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Ethiopia. Zambia’s engagement with the Summit signals to President Hichilema’s focus on developing further partnerships for the country’s agricultural industries.

Expected outcomes from the Summit include a 10-year Action Plan, which will set out steps for rebuilding soil health, and as a result, increase profitability of fertilizers and increase agricultural yields.

The Summit will look at soil conditions across Africa, and discuss financing, investment and new policies aimed at advancing agricultural production. The Summit will see an array of Heads of State, policy makers, experts, NGOs, and scientists, congregating to foreground the interests of the majority of Zambian citizens who depend on the agricultural sector.

In line with the Summit, in a speech read on his behalf by Vice President Mutale Nalumango, President Hichilema has called upon African leaders to increase investment in Science, Technology and Innovation to help strengthen the response to climate challenges the Continent.

He said, “Africa needs serious investment in Science, Technology and Innovation. In addition, we need learners, graduates, scholars, and researchers in Artificial Intelligence to resolve some of the challenges associated with climate change.”

He maintained that STEM subjects should be taught as a priority in the African education system, and qualifications for teachers should be standardised so they can work in any country across the Continent.