President Hakainde Hichilema has set ambitious national agricultural production targets, announcing that Zambia aims to produce 10 million metric tonnes of maize and one million metric tonnes each of wheat and soybeans annually by 2031.
The targets represent a major leap from the country’s current output, with maize production typically ranging between 2.7 and 3.6 million tonnes in recent years while wheat and soybean harvests remain well below one million tonnes.
Hichilema outlined the targets during a meeting in Lusaka on Thursday with former Vietnamese Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat whose country’s transformation from subsistence farming to a global agricultural powerhouse was presented as a model for Zambia.
Vietnam’s agricultural exports reached more than US$70 billion in 2025, driven by market‑oriented reforms, investment in irrigation and rural infrastructure, and the adoption of digital technologies.
Hichilema said Zambia intends to draw lessons from Vietnam’s experience to strengthen food security, expand export earnings and raise rural incomes.
He noted that achieving the 2031 targets will require a fundamental shift in how the agricultural sector is structured, financed and supported.
Phat briefed Zambian officials on Vietnam’s 1986 liberalisation programme, which opened the economy to market forces and reshaped the country’s agricultural sector into a productive, export‑oriented industry.
Hichilema said Zambia sees similar potential if it accelerates reforms, improves productivity and scales up investment in irrigation and mechanisation.
JN/APA