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Article: Zambia trying to ease its people's hunger pangs.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- November 19, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SIAVUNGA, Zambia _ While neighboring Zimbabwe compounds its hunger problems by evicting its most productive farmers from their land, the 11-month-old government of Zambia is trying to ease its people's hunger pangs.
The budget for agriculture this year has been boosted to $40 million, higher than in any recent year. The government has signed an agreement with commercial farmers promising not to undercut corn prices through subsidies or flood the market with cheap imported corn.
Officials are discussing longer-term solutions ranging from canals and hand pumps to allow year-round crop cycles to establishing farmers' cooperatives and agricultural banks to ...