The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has expressed concern at the rise in food prices in the country.
In a press release issued to Zambian Eye, the JCTR attributed the rise in food prices to the high cost of production, citing farming inputs such as fertilizer and seed, transportation costs involved in faring commodities and the weakening of the kwacha against other major currencies.
The JCTR says it is unfortunate that the cost of living has steadily increased amidst high unemployment levels , stagnant incomes for most public and non-public workers and the agriculture sector not performing to the expected levels due to lack of support from the manufacturing industry.
The church organization pointed out that the economic situation will affect the majority of the many households especially those in the rural area, which in turn will have an impact on the health of the nation.
They have since called for urgent measures to avert a crisis and further appealed to government to prioritize and implement the expansion of electricity generation.