President Hichilema Targets Agricultural Transformation After Meeting With Vietnam's Reform Architects

President Hakainde Hichilema and his Cabinet met former Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture Dr. Cao Duc Phat today, in a session focused on drawing practical lessons from one of the world's most remarkable agricultural transformations.

Dr. Phat presented on Vietnam's landmark Đổi Mới reforms — a 1986 liberalisation programme that shifted the country from subsistence farming to a globally competitive export industry. Vietnam's agricultural exports reached approximately US$70.1 billion in 2025, underpinned by strong financing mechanisms, irrigation investment, rural infrastructure, and the rapid adoption of digital technologies.

President Hichilema said Vietnam's experience offered actionable lessons for Zambia, and used the occasion to reaffirm his government's national production targets: 10 million metric tonnes of maize, 1 million metric tonnes of wheat, and 1 million metric tonnes of soybeans annually by 2031. Reaching those figures, he acknowledged, would require a fundamental transformation of how Zambia farms.

Central to that transformation is the Presidential Irrigation Programme, which aims to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture, extend year-round production, and improve climate resilience across farming communities.

The President called for relations with Vietnam to be elevated into a formal Economic Partnership covering trade, investment, technology transfer, and skills development. He noted that Minister of Finance Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane and Minister of Agriculture Reuben Mtolo recently completed a study tour to Vietnam, with findings to be adapted to the Zambian context.