LUSAKA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Rising costs of foodstuffs need to be tackled alongside existing income inequalities, an official of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of Zambia has said.

    CSO head of living conditions monitoring branch Kambaila Munkoni said high inequalities in income distribution were posing a serious threat to poverty reduction efforts as monthly earnings of a majority of workers were far below the average cost of living, according to The Post.

    "Household incomes and household assets contribute to poverty alleviation but the income inequalities in the country have become a major challenge to poverty alleviation," said Munkoni during a discussion on rising food prices and their impact on Zambia's economy held in Lusaka on Thursday.

    According to CSO's recent data, 75 percent of the country's workforce earn below 600,000 (about 181 U.S. dollars) per month while only 25 percent take home more than that.

    "If we had to do another survey this year, the figures could be a bit different because civil servants have been awarded salary increments," Munkoni said. "We are getting into an income crisis because of rising costs of food and people' s expenditure patterns have been disturbed."

    Munkoni noted the need for increased investments in rural areas where the economy is largely driven by agriculture.

    "We need to invest more in rural areas because that is where we have the farmers," Munkoni said. "When we place investments in rural areas, we will be assisting in reducing the number of people living in poverty."

    Recent data compiled by the CSO indicated that Western Province still remains the poorest region, with 84 percent of people living below the poverty line while Lusaka has the lowest at 29 percent.