Kamukwape's Diary

 Young people are inspired to engage in agriculture when they listen to success stories about fellow young farmers. For many, making a decision to engage in agriculture comes as a result of change of perception and building a positive attitude towards the practice. A television programme on ZNBC TV1 on 18th May, 2017, presented a success story for young farmers, which was obviously meant to inspire young people to take up farming. However, my observation is that the development of the story might have not achieved it’s intended purpose due to various reasons. I have discussed my opinions in brief. Selecting appropriate role models Young farmer Success Stories have more impact when they are developed with the focus on how an ordinary youth get inspired, learn about how to get started and understand the process, and grow from basic production to commercial levels. This entails crafting the success story in form of a brand that is gradually built. It should be a process of...

A sunny, hot Sunday it has been! After a few movements to prepare for the week, I head home, grab a glass of water, pull out my Laptop and try to make myself comfortable. As I lay my hands on the keyboard, I quickly browse through my files, looking for some sounds to up my spirits. There we go, it is Marky II featuring Exile, with one of those ‘workaholic mood’ beats; Nangu bancinge. Nangu bancinge, talks about a determined person ready to defeat all setbacks until they get to a successful end. The track narrates, in brief, the perseverance sustained and things achieved as source of motivation. Booooom! I am energized, ready for the week ahead. Various ‘ pronouncements’  have been made by stakeholders to  raise hopes  about how they wish to see the youth engaged in agriculture.  Most Job creation policies seem to have put agriculture at the centre of sectors which have been targeted to create jobs for the youth and women in Zambia. Last week, I spen...