(LUSAKATIMES) PS calls for speedy distribution of farming inputs

PS calls for speedy distribution of farming inputs
October 21, 2008

Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary has called for speedy distribution of farming inputs under the Fertilizer Support programme, FSP in the province. Elijah Chisanga says government will not accept unnecessary lapses in the distribution of the inputs on which colossal sums of money has been spent in subsidies.

Mr. Chisanga told ZANIS in Lusaka today that Lusaka province has received 35,689 X 50kg bags of urea, 14,255 X 50 kg bags of D. compound fertiliser and 18,788 X 10 kg bags of seed.

Lusaka district has been allocated 21,984 X 50 kg bags of urea and an equal quantity of D. compound fertilizer.

Mr Chisanga said the district has also been allocated 128 X 10 kg bags of seed which farmers will directly access from the supplier Omnia.

“With these inputs in place, I wish to appeal to the farming community in the province to go flat out and access the inputs in readiness for the planting season,” said Mr Chisanga.

Mr Chisanga said it is government’s expectation that farmers will respond overwhelmingly to the substantial increase in subsidy which has resulted in the price of fertilizer falling to as low as K50,000 per 50kg bag.

He said the country needs to produce more food in order to mitigate the rising food prices on the world market.

Meanwhile , Mr Chisanga also said the province has welcomed the announcement by Acting president Rupiah Banda to extend the FSP for the benefit of public service workers as well.

He urged public workers in the province to take advantage of the facility to produce more food in order to strengthen household and national food security.

The permanent secretary also disclosed that grading of feeder roads is currently underway in Lusaka province using the road construction equipment government recently from China.

Mr Chisanga said priority is being given to feeder roads in rural parts of the province such as Luangwa in order to facilitate the delivery and distribution of agriculture inputs and other services.

And Namwala District has received a total of 2,930 both top and basal dressing fertilizers under the Fertiliser Support programme [FSP].

And the Programme Against Malnutrition [PAM] has reduced the number of beneficiaries from 164 during the 2007/2008 farming season to 108 farmers due to low and poor loan repayments.

Senior Agriculture Officer Mr. Godwin Chate disclosed in an interview with ZANIS that this year’s input allocation was enough to cater for all the farmers in the District.

Mr Chate who is also acting District agriculture coordinator said the District was over supplied by 552 bags of fertilizer but that the fertilizer has since been taken to Choma district .

He however revealed explained that 14 bags of compound “D’ got lost in transit to Namwala adding that the driver of the trunk has since been held responsible.

And Mr Chate said PAM has decided to reduce the number of beneficiaries because of the poor loan repayment in the District.

“It has been observed by PAM that farmers in the District have a habit of not paying back the loans they get so PAM has seen it fit to reduce the number of beneficiaries,” said Mr Chate.

Mr. Chate named Ngabo and Kabulamwanda as areas where vulnerable but viable farmers would benefit from this year’s inputs from PAM.

PAM has already delivered a total of 226 bags of both basal and top fertilizers for this year’s farming season as well as maize seeds, groundnuts, sorghum, and millet.
ZANIS/JS/MK/ENDS