Senior Chief Shimumbo Nalubamba of Namwala District has told the Government to stop gambling Zambia's food security on maize alone, warning that unpredictable rainfall and a possible El Niño in the 2026/2027 farming season could expose the country to hunger.
Speaking on Day Two of the Zambia Traditional Seed and Food Festival in Lusaka on 31 October 2026, the traditional leader called for stronger state support for traditional seed systems and crop diversification, according to LusakaTimes.com.
“Maize Alone Cannot Guarantee Food Security”
Senior Chief Nalubamba said Zambia cannot keep leaning on one crop while the rains fail and the climate turns hostile. Our ancestors knew better, he argued, growing cowpeas, maize and traditional varieties side by side so that when one crop failed, the family still ate.
“Maize alone cannot guarantee food security, particularly under the increasingly unpredictable rainfall that we are experiencing as a country,” Senior Chief Nalubamba said.
He named sorghum, millet, cowpeas and cassava as the crops that can carry Zambian households through climate shocks while improving nutrition and opening real economic opportunities for our people. These are our own seeds, from our own soil, and they belong in our fields and our markets, not locked away in museums.
“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.
A Challenge to Government: Buy What Our Farmers Grow
The Chief did not mince words about market barriers. He pointed a finger at the Food Reserve Agency, whose limited purchasing of certain maize varieties, including yellow and orange maize, leaves farmers stuck with produce they cannot sell. What is the point of telling farmers to diversify if the biggest buyer, the Government itself, only wants one type of maize?
“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.
He also called for policies and reliable markets that let farmers and rural entrepreneurs process and add value to sorghum, millet, cowpeas and cassava, and for support to women's cooperatives and young entrepreneurs in food processing, seed multiplication, storage, transport and agricultural technologies.
Women Farmers: The Backbone Zambia Must Back
Senior Chief Nalubamba demanded greater investment in women farmers, saying women are at the heart of food production, seed preservation, household nutrition and agricultural marketing. He urged traditional leaders to confront customs in their own communities that block women and young people from productive land and from decision-making tables.
With 2026 declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer, he said the moment should produce stronger women-led farming organisations, better access to productive resources and growing rural businesses.
Maureen Sichinga, an agroecological farmer from Lusangazi District in Eastern Province, under Chief Nyampande's Royal Establishment, carried the same message from the grassroots.
“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 recalled how the 2023/2024 drought laid bare the vulnerability of households hooked on maize and synthetic inputs. Foreign chemicals and imported seed, she suggested, are a fragile foundation for a sovereign nation's food supply.
“Traditional seeds are not seeds of the past. They are seeds for our future,” she said.
Agroecology: Zambian Knowledge, Zambian Solutions
Mrs Sichinga said women farmers are already practising what the conference halls preach: intercropping, composting, mulching, water conservation, rainwater harvesting and agroforestry. They are also running farmer-managed seed systems and community seed banks to break dependence on expensive external 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.
She pressed the Government to protect farmers' rights to conserve, use, exchange and sell traditional seeds alongside conventional seed systems, and to invest in soil restoration, water harvesting, small-scale irrigation, farmer-to-farmer learning, community seed banks and research that answers to smallholder farmers, not foreign suppliers.
Mrs Sichinga went further, calling for a ban on highly hazardous pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals, citing their effects on human health and the environment. She welcomed the development of Zambia's National Agroecology Strategy and demanded its validation and real implementation, with farmers involved at every stage.
What Happens Next
The ball is now in Government's court. With the 2026/2027 farming season approaching and El Niño looming, the choice is stark: keep betting the nation's stomach on maize and imported inputs, or back the seeds, the knowledge and the farmers that have fed Zambia for generations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is maize dependency a problem for Zambia?
Senior Chief Nalubamba said dependence on a single crop exposes farming households to unnecessary risks, especially with unpredictable rainfall and possible El Niño disruptions in the 2026/2027 season.
Which traditional crops did the Chief recommend?
He named sorghum, millet, cowpeas and cassava as crops that can withstand climate shocks while improving nutrition and creating economic opportunities.
What did women farmers ask the Government to do?
They called for policies protecting traditional seeds, increased investment in agroecology, a ban on highly hazardous pesticides, and better access to land, finance and markets for women farmers.